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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

canker

2 of 2

noun

as in rot

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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
Nectria kills areas of woody tissue, sometimes creating cankers on the tree stem and large branches which in turn weaken the tree. — Pamm Cooper, Hartford Courant, 25 Jan. 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
  • In the past farmers have been suspected of deliberately poisoning elephants to prevent them from eating crops.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 29 July 2026
  • Historically used in dry cleaning or to degrease metal parts, the chemicals leaked into the base’s wells, poisoning the drinking water.
    — WUFT News, Miami Herald, 29 July 2026
Definition of poison
Noun
  • Now the rot is right there on the surface; the people smiling are less likely to be clueless optimists than the people who are happy about the rot, or profiting from it.
    — Peter C. Baker, New Yorker, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Joe is a knowing witness to and participant in the rot at the heart of Western Civilization.
    — Andy Andersen, Vulture, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of rot
Verb
  • Validation rules, schema standards and completeness checks at the entry point prevent bad master data from corrupting everything downstream.
    — Jacqueline DeStefano-Tangorra, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Most of the other relationships in the movie are hopelessly corrupted or poisoned in some way, as Letty moves between an unloving mother and a vengeful former lover, and others whose closeness is a weapon to be feared.
    — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 28 July 2026
Definition of corrupt
Noun
  • Voyager 2 and its twin launched in 1977, called Voyager 1, rely on a form of nuclear battery known as a radioisotope thermoelectric generator that uses the heat produced by the decay of plutonium.
    — Elizabeth Howell, Space.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Tritium undergoes radioactive decay, emitting particles that can degrade porous materials over time.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of decay
Verb
  • If one component degrades over time, the adjacent layers continue to block the movement of radioactive particles toward the surface.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 5 Aug. 2026
  • The suspects are alleged to have been connected to the spraying of chemicals across 10,180 hectares (about 25,200 acres) of native forest in the city of Uruara to degrade the vegetation before cutting down the trees.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of degrade
Noun
  • Of course, case reports alone are not enough to establish a clear link between melanotan and cancer or quantify the risk.
    — Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2026
  • The technologies that shape modern life, from GPS navigation and weather forecasting to cancer therapies and cellular communications, all rely on scientific discovery.
    — H. Christopher Frey, The Conversation, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of cancer
Verb
  • An agreement between Tehran and Washington is yet to materialize, with prospects for a deal appearing to deteriorate over the weekend.
    — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 11 Aug. 2026
  • In the provincial capital Pontianak, schools suspended in-person classes after air quality deteriorated to unhealthy levels and health officials reported a rise in respiratory illnesses.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of deteriorate
Noun
  • But by the nineteen-seventies the establishment had become a symbol of the city’s financial squalor.
    — Kai Bird, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026
  • The children reportedly lived in squalor and weren’t enrolled in school.
    — Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 27 June 2026
Definition of squalor

Browse Nearby Words

canisters
canker
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Cite this Entry

“Canker.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/canker. Accessed 11 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on canker

Nglish: Translation of canker for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about canker

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