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Politics & Government vocabulary · Opposition and Accountability

Corruption

Meaning in politics & government, with examples

/kəˈrʌpʃn/nounCore term

In politics & government, corruption means: Dishonest or illegal behaviour by people in positions of power, such as accepting bribes or using public money or office for private gain.

In Turkish: yolsuzluk, rüşvet ve yolsuzluk

How it is used

Used in news and reports on governance. People fight, tackle or investigate corruption, or are accused of it; there are corruption allegations, scandals and charges. Common related words are bribery and anti-corruption.

Example sentences

  1. The city set up an independent office to investigate corruption in public tenders.

  2. Students analysed how independent media help to expose corruption.

Common collocations

  • fight corruption
  • corruption allegations
  • anti-corruption
  • corruption scandal
  • tackle corruption
  • transparencyThe quality of a government or organization being open about its decisions, spending and activities, so that the public can see and check them.
  • accountabilityThe duty of people in power to explain their decisions and actions, accept responsibility for them and face consequences if they act wrongly.
  • rule of lawThe principle that everyone, including the government and its officials, must obey the law, and that laws are applied fairly by independent courts.
  • scrutinyCareful and detailed examination of something, especially the way parliament, the media or the public check the actions and decisions of the government.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Opposition and Accountability

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