5351 phtheírō (from phthiō, "perish, waste away") – properly, waste away, corrupt (deteriorate); (figuratively) to cause or experience moral deterioration – i.e. decomposition (break-down), due to the corrupting influence of sin.

[This root (pht-) literally means "waste away" (degenerate), "moving down from a higher level (quality, status) to a lower form.]

STRONGS NT 5351: φθείρω

φθείρω; future φθερῶ; 1 aorist ἐφθειρα; passive, present φθείρομαι; 2 aorist ἐφθάρην; 2 future φθαρήσομαι; (akin to German verderben); the Sept. for שִׁחֵת; (from Homer down); to corrupt, to destroy: properly, τόν ναόν τοῦ Θεοῦ (in the opinion of the Jews the temple was corrupted, or 'destroyed', when anyone defiled or in the slightest degree damaged anything in it, or if its guardians neglected their duties; cf. Deyling, Observations, sacrae, vol. ii, p. 505ff), dropping the figure, to lead away a Christian church from that state of knowledge and holiness in which it ought to abide, 1 Corinthians 3:17a; τινα, to punish with death, 1 Corinthians 3:17{b}; equivalent to to bring to want or beggary (cf. our ruin (A. V. corrupt)), 2 Corinthians 7:2; passive, to be destroyed, to perish: ἐν τίνι, by a thing, Jude 1:10; ἐν with a dative denoting the condition, ἐν τῇ φθορά αὐτῶν, 2 Peter 2:12 L T Tr WH. in an ethical sense, to corrupt, deprave: φθείρουσιν ἔθη χρηστά ὁμιλίαι κακαί (a saying of Menander (see ἦθος, 2), which seems to have passed into a proverb (see Wetstein at the passage; Gataker, Advers. misc. l. i. c. 1, p. 174f)), 1 Corinthians 15:33; the character of the inhabitants of the earth, Revelation 19:2; passive, φθείρομαι ἀπό τίνος, to be so corrupted as to fall away from a thing (see ἀπό, I. 3 d.), 2 Corinthians 11:3; φθειρόμενον κατά τάς ἐπιθυμίας (R. V. waxeth corrupt etc.), Ephesians 4:22. (Compare: διαφθείρω, καταφθείρω.)



corrupt, defile, destroy.

Probably strengthened from phthio (to pine or waste); properly, to shrivel or wither, i.e. To spoil (by any process) or (generally) to ruin (especially figuratively, by moral influences, to deprave) -- corrupt (self), defile, destroy.

εφθάρη εφθάρησαν εφθειραμεν εφθείραμεν ἐφθείραμεν έφθειρας έφθειρε εφθειρεν ἔφθειρεν φθαρη φθαρή φθαρῇ φθαρήσεται φθαρησονται φθαρήσονται φθείραι φθειρει φθείρει φθειρομενον φθειρόμενον φθειρονται φθείρονται φθειρουσιν φθείρουσιν φθερει φθερεί φθερεῖ φθερείτε φθερώ ephtheiramen ephtheíramen ephtheiren éphtheiren phthare phtharē phtharêi phtharē̂i phtharesontai phtharēsontai phtharḗsontai phtheirei phtheírei phtheiromenon phtheirómenon phtheirontai phtheírontai phtheirousin phtheírousin phtherei phthereî