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
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Robert Josh Grossman read through several pages of text messages between him and Kouri Richins, who is accused of poisoning her husband with a fatal dose of fentanyl.—
Minyvonne Burke,
NBC news,
5 Mar. 2026
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Condors vanished from the state’s North Coast after the arrival of European settlers, who killed other animals with lead bullets and strychnine — poisoning the raptors that feed on carrion.—
Lila Seidman,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Any wood will do; however, cedar, black locust, and white oak are the most rot-resistant.—
Luke Miller,
Better Homes & Gardens,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Still, the rot always starts at the edges and previously tame public corporate debt spreads have leaked wider.—
Michael Santoli,
CNBC,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Richard Pazdur, a longtime cancer drug regulator, retired from the CDER director post in December due to concerns that political officials were corrupting the agency’s scientific process.—
Lizzy Lawrence,
STAT,
6 Mar. 2026
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Over time, these invisible strikes can corrupt data, damage components, and shorten a spacecraft’s life.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The subsurface storage reserve acts as the ultimate shock absorber against price spike and the decay of petroleum reserves due to poorly managed well shut-in during crisis.—
Siddharth Misra,
Fortune,
6 Mar. 2026
-
The creation of a tiny black hole would only lead to its immediate decay.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been degraded during the American and Israeli war against it, but remains far from neutralized.—
Mike Brest,
The Washington Examiner,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Conventional relay-lens setups often degrade beam quality or require precise positioning.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The singer died following a battle with brain cancer.—
Tracy Brown,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Martínez's told the Times that his wife, Cuéllar, has colon cancer.—
Faith Bugenhagen,
Austin American Statesman,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Their goal was to get control over their local water supply like their neighbors, in order to upgrade deteriorating infrastructure and rein in rising water rates.—
Tara Molina,
CBS News,
12 Mar. 2026
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The turtle slows, more organisms attach, and the animal’s condition deteriorates.—
Ryan Brennan,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
After its seemingly benign opening, the movie captures the appalling conditions under which the inmates are kept, with unblinking scenes of bullying, force feeding, strip searches and squalor.—
Chloe Veltman,
NPR,
16 Feb. 2026
-
Many came from grinding poverty and squalor.—
Alexandra Schwartz,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Canker.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/canker. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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