1. corruption, destruction, perishing (opposed to γένεσις, origin, often in Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch; opposed to σωτηρία, Plato, Phileb., p. 35 e.; for שַׁחַת, Psalm 102:4 (); Jonah 2:7): Romans 8:21 (on which see δουλεία); 2 Peter 2:12a (some (cf. R. V. marginal reading) take φθορά here actively: εἰς φθοράν, to destroy); ἐν φθορά, in a state of corruption or decomposition (of the body at burial), 1 Corinthians 15:42; by metonymy, that which is subject to corruption, what is perishable, opposed to ἀφθαρσία, 1 Corinthians 15:50; in the Christian sense, the loss of salvation, eternal misery (which elsewhere is called ἀπώλεια), Colossians 2:22 (see ἀπόχρησις); opposed to ζωή αἰώνιος, Galatians 6:8, cf. Schott ad loc. 2. in the N. T. in an ethical sense, corruption i. e. moral decay: 2 Peter 1:4; 2 Peter 2:12{b} (some take the word here actively (R. V. text in their destroying), others refer it to 1 above), 2 Peter 2:19; with τῆς ζωῆς added, Wis. 14:12.