Definition of "corrode" [cor•rode]

• To destroy a metal or alloy gradually, especially by oxidation or chemical action: acid corroding metal. (verb-transitive)
• To impair steadily; deteriorate: "Doubt and mistrust could creep into our lives, corroding personal and professional relationships” ( Philip Taubman). (verb-transitive)
• To be eaten or worn away. (verb-intransitive)

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.

• "Corrosion Control All materials corrode, which is to say every substance eventually changes from one form to another through chemical reactions."
• "The horror you feel at "moral decay" is, to the Elders of Sodom, quite self-evidentally an affective defense mechanism, designed to function as a barrier to anything that might "corrode" your convictions."
• "Sharing a platform with the most senior officials in Brussels, the Prince attacked those who "corrode" the EU's environmental policies by denying "the vast body of scientific evidence" that climate change is caused by industrial activity."