turpitude \TUR-puh-tood; -tyood\, noun: 1.  Inherent  baseness  or  vileness  of  principle, words, or actions; depravity. 2. A base act. "In  the  eyes of the far left, it [the 60s] is the era when revolution was at hand, only to be betrayed by the feebleness of  the faithful and the trickery of the enemy; to the radical right, an era of subversion and moral turpitude." Arthur  Marwick, The  Sixties: Cultural Revolution in Britain, France, Italy, and the   United States, c.1958-c.1974. "They  based  their action on a clause in the uniform player contract  which  says players must "conform to standards of good  citizenship  and  good moral character" and disallows "engaging in acts of moral turpitude." Ira  Berkow,  "Go Ahead, Choke the Boss - Only in the N.B.A.," New York Times, March 5, 1998. "They were not his misdeeds, his turpitudes; she accused him of nothing - that is, of but one thing, which was not a crime." Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady. Turpitude  comes from Latin turpitudo, from turpis, "foul, base." References 1. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/0192881000/ref%3dnosim/lexico 2. http://www.nytimes.com/ 3. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/014043223x/ref%3dnosim/lexico Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=9&q=turpitude