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canker 1 of 2

verb

Definition of cankernext
as in to poison
to lower in character, dignity, or quality such shameless ambulance chasing cankers the legal profession

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

canker

2 of 2

noun

as in rot

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of canker
Noun
Recognize bacterial canker by the dead branches covered by sap drippings. — Calvin Finch, San Antonio Express-News, 13 Feb. 2026 This damages the trunk and leaves an ugly, elongated canker that invites insects and stresses the tree, leading to stunted growth, sparse foliage, and stem dieback. — Luke Miller, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Jan. 2026 Bacterial plant diseases include speck (a winter-surviving infection that attacks tomatoes), canker (which damages fruit trees including those producing apples and peaches), and blight (which rots melons, cucumbers, pumpkins, squash, peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, beans, and more). — New Atlas, 10 Jan. 2026 Even the most superb body begins to diminish in a person’s early 30s, thanks to the onset of sarcopenia, which sounds like a canker but means the incremental decline of muscle mass. — Sally Jenkins, The Atlantic, 18 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for canker
Recent Examples of Synonyms for canker
  1. poison
  2. rot
  3. corrupt
  4. decay
  5. degrade
  6. cancer
  7. deteriorate
  8. squalor
Verb
  • Ten lions found dead in a wildlife reserve in Tanzania are suspected to have been poisoned, according to wildlife officials.
    — Kristin Wright, NPR, 20 Sep. 2026
  • The attacks escalated this summer, with 16 trees — 13 Jeffrey pines and three white firs — poisoned on three occasions between May and early August.
    — Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of poison
Noun
  • If The Social Network was about the people who laid Facebook’s foundation, Aaron Sorkin’s follow-up, The Social Reckoning, is about the whistleblower and the journalist who exposed the rot in its infrastructure.
    — Marley Marius, Vogue, 17 Sep. 2026
  • The outer layers of the bulb must dry sufficiently to protect the interior portion from rot and mildew.
    — Rita Pelczar, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of rot
Verb
  • The title character and his fellow physicists spend much of their early years refusing to work for the Soviet military machine; building bombs would corrupt the purity and beauty of their science.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 14 Sep. 2026
  • And by engaging with these powerful militaries, the group reinforced its self-image as a major regional player that was uniquely capable of liberating the Muslim world from corrupting American and Israeli influence.
    — April Longley Alley, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of corrupt
Noun
  • Turning from Howard Street, drivers could easily think Hamilton is just a squalid dead-end or a route to more decay.
    — Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 16 Sep. 2026
  • However, since a Higgs boson does not have a spin of its own, the two Z bosons formed during its decay cannot have any odd combinations of spins.
    — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of decay
Verb
  • As industries increasingly operate equipment in extreme thermal and demanding environments, optical components must withstand conditions that can quickly degrade conventional materials.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 17 Sep. 2026
  • When a critical resource of a larger system is categorized as interchangeable, the company triggers savings logic that, in pursuit of lower prices, degrades quality.
    — Mindaugas Čaplinskas, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of degrade
Noun
  • As an art student in the 1950s, McNeely was diagnosed with cancer, so when feminist art and discourse soon after came to center on empowerment, independence, and strength, her experience did not fit neatly in.
    — Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Among nonsmokers, the increase is even more dramatic, with the gene raising lung cancer risk some 60 times.
    — Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of cancer
Verb
  • Relations between the two countries have since deteriorated, partly over Abiy’s desire for sovereign access to the Eritrean seaport of Assab.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 Sep. 2026
  • The latest contingent is arriving as Haiti confronts a deteriorating security and humanitarian environment and struggles to organize its first general elections in more than a decade.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of deteriorate
Noun
  • The Yolo County parents of a 7-day-old infant found living in squalor in a tent under an overpass have pleaded not guilty to the child endangerment charges against them, records show.
    — Fedor Zarkhin, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Bryant was charged in February 2025 with first-degree child abuse after investigators found that her children — at the time ages 12, 13, and 15 — had been living alone for at least four years in a townhouse on Lydia Lane, trapped in squalor.
    — Andrea May Sahouri, Freep.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of squalor

Browse Nearby Words

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canker
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“Canker.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/canker. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on canker

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about canker

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