perverse

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It said the low level of the standard benefit "creates a logical – but perverse - incentive for people to claim the health element too".

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026

“The most perverse scenario … is a further equities grind sideways to slightly down, but no crash/no shocks,” he said.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 9, 2026

“It’s a somewhat perverse love of delayed gratification.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 7, 2026

Swenson may be a step slower in this regard, but he plays it perfectly by accentuating the delight Sweeney takes in the merriment of Mrs. Lovett’s perverse rhyming game.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 3, 2026

The notion that we must understand the past in its own terms, though, can place historians under a perverse pressure to find someone in the past who can act as spokesperson for their own views.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton