Definition of "subvert" [sub•vert]

• To destroy completely; ruin: "schemes to subvert the liberties of a great community” ( Alexander Hamilton). (verb-transitive)
• To undermine the character, morals, or allegiance of; corrupt. (verb-transitive)
• To overthrow completely: "Economic assistance ... must subvert the existing ... feudal or tribal order” ( Henry A. Kissinger). See Synonyms at overthrow. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "I'm more of the 'likes to subvert from the inside' kind of guy."
• "It is possible that leaderless 5GW will included meme-driven individuals infiltrating cultural institutions with the intent to long-term subvert them and redirect them to opposite goals."
• "To subvert is not the aim of literature, its value lies in discovering and revealing what is rarely known, little known, thought to be known but in fact not very well known of the truth of the human world."