as in to poison
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
such shameless ambulance chasing cankers the legal profession
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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 special bond between Supergirl and her scruffy animal sidekick becomes a key plot point in Kara’s new solo movie, where Krypto is poisoned by space outlaw Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts).
-
Kara Zor-El (Alcock) goes on a planet-hopping mission to save her beloved Krypto – with young and vengeful girl Ruthye (Eve Ridley) in tow – after he’s poisoned by the villainous Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts).
Noun
-
Soaking cherry seeds helps remove the pulp, preventing rot that can hinder germination.
-
The rot began long before the 2016 vote to leave the European Union.
Verb
-
Forgetting his bond with the land, Mariano awakens the Ch’iqmi, a dark force that corrupts his people.
-
Lander has argued Goldman, the multimillionaire heir to the Levi jeans fortune, embodies establishment, corporate interests that corrupt the Democratic Party.
Noun
-
At age 11, my favorite Broadway show was Follies – a classic preteen tale about the decay of female beauty and fading fame within an unscrupulous industry of vaudeville and burlesque.
-
Their fix is to let the same model that does the reasoning also curate the knowledge, stored as human-readable notes and organized hierarchically with provenance and a lifecycle so stale plays decay rather than calcify.
Verb
-
When temperatures rise, heat can quietly degrade pantry staples, making refrigeration essential to preserve quality and flavor.
-
If leaders are not present and actively developing people, the system degrades—quietly at first, then all at once.
Noun
-
The diagnosis was of early-stage cancer, or Stage 1.
-
Amodei predicts that, over the next five to ten years, AI will achieve, among other things, the reliable prevention and treatment of nearly all natural infectious disease, the elimination of most cancer, the prevention of Alzheimer’s and a doubling of the human lifespan.
Verb
-
England reached stumps on 103-4 after 15 overs, still needing 270 runs in its seemingly forlorn chase of 373 to win on a deteriorating pitch and heading for a first defeat in a home series of three or more tests since 2012.
-
Intensifying wildfires across eastern Utah and western Colorado are sending thick smoke into portions of the state, creating hazy skies and deteriorating air quality for many mountain and western Colorado communities.
Noun
-
The children reportedly lived in squalor and weren’t enrolled in school.
-
Reform and Restore are no doubt relying on support from pockets of deprivation, squalor and neglect in Makerfield.
Cite this Entry
“Canker.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/canker. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
