Depravation and deprivation are two words that are very close in spelling and pronunciation which are sometimes confused. We will examine the definitions of depravation and deprivation, where these words came from and some examples of their use in sentences.
Depravation means the act of corrupting someone, of causing them to become bad or depraved, the act of making someone wicked or perverted. The word depravation is related to the word deprave, a fact which makes remembering the correct spelling easier. The word is derived from the Latin word depravare which means to pervert or corrupt.
Deprivation means the absence of the basic necessities of life, the state of living without a necessity. The word deprivation is related to the word deprive, which is derived from the Latin word deprivare which means wholly released from. The word deprivation is used much more often than the word depravation, but spelling mistakes can make these two words confusing.
Examples
He told Regan: “It was not enough that your sexual depravation ran to watching the rape of children. (The Bristol Post)
In 2005, Lüpertz created a monument to Mozart in Salzburg. Gerhard Richter called it a ‘depravation’ of art and a few disgruntled locals tarred and feathered it. (Apollo Magazine)
Trump has claimed to prefer three to four hours of sleep. And he shows “many classic signs of sleep deprivation,” including bad decision making, inability to focus, irritability and impulsiveness, says Winter, who describes himself as “a fairly conservative guy.” (USA Today)
Although the researchers acknowledge that it is difficult to confirm that living in deprivation causes an increased risk of anxiety in women, they believe this is what their analysis points towards. (The Deccan Chronicle)