"power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely" meaning in English

See power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Proverb

Forms: power corrupts [canonical], absolute power corrupts absolutely [canonical]
Etymology: From a letter written by Lord Acton in 1887. Head templates: {{head|en|proverb|head=power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely}} power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely
  1. The corrupting influence of power is total when one's power is total. Wikipedia link: John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton Translations (the corrupting influence of power is total when one's power is total): władza korumpuje, a władza absolutna korumpuje absolutnie (Polish), o poder corrompe, o poder absoluto corrompe absolutamente (Portuguese), власть развраща́ет, абсолю́тная власть развраща́ет абсолю́тно (vlastʹ razvraščájet, absoljútnaja vlastʹ razvraščájet absoljútno) (Russian), el poder corrompe, el poder absoluto corrompe absolutamente (Spanish), вла́да розбе́щує, а абсолю́тна вла́да розбе́щує абсолю́тно (vláda rozbéščuje, a absoljútna vláda rozbéščuje absoljútno) (Ukrainian)
    Sense id: en-power_corrupts,_absolute_power_corrupts_absolutely-en-proverb-rv0ajO6P Categories (other): English proverbs

Download JSON data for power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely meaning in English (2.1kB)

{
  "etymology_text": "From a letter written by Lord Acton in 1887.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "power corrupts",
      "tags": [
        "canonical"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "absolute power corrupts absolutely",
      "tags": [
        "canonical"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "proverb",
        "head": "power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely"
      },
      "expansion": "power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "proverb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English proverbs",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The corrupting influence of power is total when one's power is total."
      ],
      "id": "en-power_corrupts,_absolute_power_corrupts_absolutely-en-proverb-rv0ajO6P",
      "links": [
        [
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        ],
        [
          "total",
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      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "the corrupting influence of power is total when one's power is total",
          "word": "władza korumpuje, a władza absolutna korumpuje absolutnie"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "the corrupting influence of power is total when one's power is total",
          "word": "o poder corrompe, o poder absoluto corrompe absolutamente"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "vlastʹ razvraščájet, absoljútnaja vlastʹ razvraščájet absoljútno",
          "sense": "the corrupting influence of power is total when one's power is total",
          "word": "власть развраща́ет, абсолю́тная власть развраща́ет абсолю́тно"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "the corrupting influence of power is total when one's power is total",
          "word": "el poder corrompe, el poder absoluto corrompe absolutamente"
        },
        {
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "vláda rozbéščuje, a absoljútna vláda rozbéščuje absoljútno",
          "sense": "the corrupting influence of power is total when one's power is total",
          "word": "вла́да розбе́щує, а абсолю́тна вла́да розбе́щує абсолю́тно"
        }
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely"
}
{
  "etymology_text": "From a letter written by Lord Acton in 1887.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "power corrupts",
      "tags": [
        "canonical"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "absolute power corrupts absolutely",
      "tags": [
        "canonical"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "proverb",
        "head": "power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely"
      },
      "expansion": "power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "proverb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English proverbs"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The corrupting influence of power is total when one's power is total."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "corrupt",
          "corrupt"
        ],
        [
          "total",
          "total"
        ]
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "the corrupting influence of power is total when one's power is total",
      "word": "władza korumpuje, a władza absolutna korumpuje absolutnie"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "the corrupting influence of power is total when one's power is total",
      "word": "o poder corrompe, o poder absoluto corrompe absolutamente"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "vlastʹ razvraščájet, absoljútnaja vlastʹ razvraščájet absoljútno",
      "sense": "the corrupting influence of power is total when one's power is total",
      "word": "власть развраща́ет, абсолю́тная власть развраща́ет абсолю́тно"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "the corrupting influence of power is total when one's power is total",
      "word": "el poder corrompe, el poder absoluto corrompe absolutamente"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "vláda rozbéščuje, a absoljútna vláda rozbéščuje absoljútno",
      "sense": "the corrupting influence of power is total when one's power is total",
      "word": "вла́да розбе́щує, а абсолю́тна вла́да розбе́щує абсолю́тно"
    }
  ],
  "word": "power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-17 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-01 using wiktextract (0b52755 and 5cb0836). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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