corrupt official

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "corrupt official" is correct and usable in written English. You can use it when referring to a government or organizational official who engages in dishonest or unethical behavior. Example: The investigation revealed that the corrupt official had embezzled funds from the city budget. Alternative expressions include "dishonest official" and "crooked official."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Academia

Science

Encyclopedias

Wiki

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

57 human-written examples

Is it those who lose out to corruption or the corrupt official?

The Guardian

If a newspaper reporter breaks an investigative business story about corruption, chances are high that the corrupt official in the story will keep his job and his bosses will pretend nothing happened.

Forbes

If a borrower and a corrupt official interact with symmetric information, credit terms can be so designed that corruption will affect only the borrower's profit, but not repayment.

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization

Screw a corrupt official.

The New Yorker

A corrupt official.

The New York Times

One is that economic reform has not yet included reform of stifling, and corrupt, official bureaucracies.

The Economist

"A corrupt official is a more loyal official," says Ms Panfilova.

The Economist

"Find a corrupt official and he'll probably be superstitious," she said.

The New York Times

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

3 human-written examples

"I would say corrupt officials.

Independent

Corrupt officials have been purged and tried.

The Economist

Finally, the corrupt officials were replaced.

The New York Times

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Combine the phrase with specific descriptors of the official's rank (e.g. "senior corrupt official") to provide clearer context for the scale of the misconduct

Common error

Avoid using "corrupt official" to describe someone who is merely bad at their job or makes honest mistakes. Corruption specifically requires an element of intent and the abuse of power for private gain, often involving illegal acts like bribery or embezzlement

Linguistic Context

The phrase "corrupt official" functions as a compound noun or a noun phrase where "corrupt" acts as an attributive adjective modifying the noun "official". In the examples provided by Ludwig, it frequently serves as the direct object of verbs like "exposed", "caught" or "prosecuted", or as the subject in descriptive sentences.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

65%

Academia

15%

Science

10%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

5%

Wiki

3%

Social Media

2%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "corrupt official" is a fundamental term in the English language for describing a specific type of political and administrative misconduct. According to Ludwig AI, the phrase is grammatically correct and universally recognized across high-tier publications and academic journals. It carries a heavy moral and legal weight, signaling a violation of the social contract. While synonyms like "crooked official" are available for more informal writing, "corrupt official" remains the gold standard for neutral, professional and investigative contexts. Writers should ensure they are describing an actual abuse of power for gain rather than mere incompetence to maintain the term's precision.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

crooked official

Uses more informal and idiomatic language to emphasize the lack of integrity.

dishonest bureaucrat

Specifically targets the administrative or civil service aspect of the person's role.

venal politician

Emphasizes that the person is specifically motivated by bribery or financial gain.

unethical administrator

Provides a more professional and broad moral assessment of the individual's conduct.

malfeasant officer

Uses legalistic terminology to denote a person who has committed a wrongful or illegal act.

graft-ridden functionary

Focuses on the systemic involvement in bribery and illegal commissions.

fraudulent representative

Suggests that the official's actions involve deceit and misrepresentation of their duties.

tainted authority

Focuses on the loss of credibility and the stained reputation of the person in power.

unscrupulous government employee

Highlights a total lack of moral principles in their professional conduct.

dirty politician

A highly informal and colloquial way to describe political corruption.

FAQs

What can I say instead of "corrupt official"?

Depending on the tone of your writing, you can use more idiomatic phrases like "crooked official" or more precise terms like "venal politician" or "dishonest bureaucrat".

Is it "corrupt official" or "corrupted official"?

While both can be used, "corrupt official" is far more common to describe someone who is inherently dishonest. "corrupted official" implies that the person was once honest but was later led astray by external influences.

How do you use "corrupt official" in a sentence?

You can use it as a subject or object; for example, "The investigation targeted every corrupt official in the department" or "A corrupt official was caught accepting bribes".

Can "corrupt official" be used for private companies?

Strictly speaking, the word "official" usually refers to government or public service roles. For private companies, it is more accurate to use "corrupt executive" or "dishonest manager".