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
as in rot
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of canker
Tim Johnson, chicagotribune.com, 1 Aug. 2019
Sally Jenkins, The Atlantic, 18 Dec. 2025
Fungal disease, butternut canker, wiped out about 90% of the state's butternut trees.
—Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for canker
Verb
Start by removing all blighted twigs and cankered branches 6 to 10 inches below the edge of visible infection.
—Tim Johnson, chicagotribune.com, 1 Aug. 2019
Noun
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
Fungal disease, butternut canker, wiped out about 90% of the state's butternut trees.
—Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for canker
Recent Examples of Synonyms for canker
Verb
-
The courts said that map was poisoned by partisan considerations, forcing the Legislature to come up with a new map before the 2016 primary.—
Jeffrey Schweers,
The Orlando Sentinel,
3 May 2026
-
Two years later, a train derailed, and the air, water, and clay of East Palestine were poisoned.—
Mary Norris,
New Yorker,
1 May 2026
Noun
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Wet soil after rain can lead to seed rot or fungal issues, making reseeding necessary.—
Lee Wallender,
The Spruce,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Constantly soggy soil suffocates roots and invites rot — the plant equivalent of trench foot.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Kansas City Star,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Under eclipses, artifacts will also be corrupted and have drawbacks that can be cleansed by beating the world’s Overlord.—
Gieson Cacho,
Mercury News,
30 Apr. 2026
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However, what the young Valdi captures on these early scenes is the sense that whatever love Michael had for music and performance had become immediately corrupted.—
Paul A. Thompson,
Pitchfork,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
That may be fine for downtown, but none of us in North County signed on for the kind of problems that high density brings — urban decay, crime, traffic and unaffordable housing.—
Lucas Robinson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 May 2026
-
Advertisement Just as Nietzsche warned of the dangers of a nihilist moral void leading to societal decay, the current disregard for responsible data practices could erode trust in institutions and perpetuate systemic inequalities.—
Alice Xiang,
Time,
6 May 2026
Verb
-
In applications like data centers, where batteries may cycle multiple times a day, lithium-ion systems degrade relatively quickly.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
6 May 2026
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Corning's optical solutions ensure that the data being sent between servers doesn't degrade — a risk with the copper wires used historically before the era of agentic AI computing.—
Zev Fima,
CNBC,
6 May 2026
Noun
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Written and directed by Chen Sicheng and starring Jiang Long and Qi Xi, the story follows a man who survives a suicide attempt and becomes a caregiver in a cancer ward, eventually helping terminally ill patients fulfill their deepest desires.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
4 May 2026
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From Mia’s Pancake House & Grill to UP Oncolytics, a startup company seeking a cure for a deadly form of brain cancer at Rosalind Franklin University’s Helix 51 incubator, North Chicago has become a city recognized as a good place to start a business.—
Steve Sadin,
Chicago Tribune,
4 May 2026
Verb
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The debate followed a Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association forum in which Bass and Raman previewed several themes that resurfaced Wednesday, including homelessness policy, LAPD staffing, housing density and frustration over deteriorating city services.—
Teresa Liu,
Daily News,
7 May 2026
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Despite the nonprofit spending $925,000 on ice rental during the 2025-26 season, conditions at the rink deteriorated under Black Bear, said Michalak, who briefly worked at the rink after Black Bear bought it.—
Kenny Jacoby,
USA Today,
7 May 2026
Noun
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But does the vitality mask the squalor or the squalor the vitality?—
SPIN Team,
SPIN,
20 Apr. 2026
-
And while these tenants paid their rent month after month, some of them up to $900 a month to live in squalor.—
Nikki DeMentri,
CBS News,
20 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Canker.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/canker. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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