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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of canker
Avedis Hadjian, The Christian Science Monitor, 9 Jan. 2025
Representatives of California State Parks notice that trees at the Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve in La Jolla have been infected with a fungus called pitch canker (Fusarium circinatum), which has the potential to damage or kill the rare trees.
—Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Dec. 2024
Tim Johnson, chicagotribune.com, 1 Aug. 2019
See All Example Sentences for canker
Verb
Some of the trees are covered with black canker, a fungal infection.
—Avedis Hadjian, The Christian Science Monitor, 9 Jan. 2025
Representatives of California State Parks notice that trees at the Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve in La Jolla have been infected with a fungus called pitch canker (Fusarium circinatum), which has the potential to damage or kill the rare trees.
—Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Dec. 2024
Noun
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
See All Example Sentences for canker
Recent Examples of Synonyms for canker
Verb
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Abusers and traffickers are exploiting this lack of oversight—leaving women coerced, deceived, and sometimes poisoned.—
Christa Brown,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Sep. 2025
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Beyond the broader ecological catastrophes that await us, wildfires harm people with smoke that can travel hundreds of kilometers from the source fire, poisoning people with small particles and a portfolio of toxins.—
Suwanna Gauntlett Upjohn,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Some cursory research warned me of the dangers of blossom end rot and regular rot—two common conundrums when cultivating vining plants that grow on the ground.—
Stephanie Osmanski,
Better Homes & Gardens,
23 Aug. 2025
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The science-fiction novelist Bruce Sterling recently encountered Italian-brain-rot figurines for sale on the island of Mallorca in blind boxes just like Labubus.—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
20 Aug. 2025
Verb
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With tensions already flaring, a nightmarish encounter with a mysterious, unnatural force threatens to corrupt their lives, their love, and their flesh.—
Billie Melissa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Aug. 2025
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Absolute power corrupts absolutely.—
Heidi Stevens,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Exposure to warm, humid air and bugs in the outdoors will speed up the decay even more.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
7 Sep. 2025
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The quest has led us down many theoretically interesting avenues, spawning ideas like extra dimensions, supersymmetry, proton decay, string theory, and many others.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Long-term drought has degraded the old-growth forest where the squirrels live.—
John Leos,
AZCentral.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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Design for Choice, Not Chaos Present customers with multiple options, from digital wallets to local payment rails, without degrading user experience.—
Christer Holloman,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Though Davies planned to reunite the band for a tour in 2015, it was canceled when the musician was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a type of cancer that attacks plasma cells.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Sep. 2025
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Busta also paid tribute to the late MTV VJ Ananda Lewis, who died in June at 52 years old after first being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020.—
Stacy Lambe,
PEOPLE,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The 112-year-old school building has asbestos and a deteriorating foundation.—
Erica Mosca,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Sep. 2025
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But when the levees failed, thousands of people were trapped inside as supplies dwindled and conditions deteriorated quickly.—
Sarah Alegre,
FOXNews.com,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The cottage retains its utopian squalor.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Aug. 2025
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Gazans have lived in squalor for generations.—
Jeff Robbins,
Oc Register,
11 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Canker.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/canker. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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