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
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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Thousands of multivitamin bottles sold on Amazon and other websites have been recalled over a risk of serious injury or death by poisoning.—
Joel Thayer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Sep. 2025
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During World War II, Husseini became a Nazi collaborator, broadcasting propaganda into the Arab world, touring death camps with his friend Heinrich Himmler, recruiting SS divisions, and hatching a plot to poison Tel Aviv’s water supply.—
Sean Durns,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Made from recyclable, all-weather polystyrene that is designed to last and never fade, the bench looks like real wood without the threat of rot and termites.—
Stephanie Osmanski,
Better Homes & Gardens,
16 Sep. 2025
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In their place is the attention economy, a dystopian marketplace of slop merchants, brain-rot peddlers, AI scrapyards, and extortionate big-box streaming services with junk on the shelves, all haggling for your time and money.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The additional time exposed to harsh radiation is, not surprisingly, corrupting JunoCam's images.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
12 Sep. 2025
-
The baffling Windows 11 update bug that corrupted SSDs now appears to be linked to storage drives running pre-release firmware.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
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To determine if a root canal is needed, dentists conduct a thorough exam, often with X-rays, to evaluate decay, damage and the tooth’s internal condition.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
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Its alignment with figures like North Korea’s Kim Jong Un symbolizes the isolation and reputational decay of a regime that relies on coercion rather than consent.—
Ken Silverstein,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
In some cases, performance degraded despite having access to better tools.—
Alexander Puutio,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
-
However, as seals in the engines, designed to stop leaks, wear and degrade, oil seeps in and vaporizes in the heat, releasing toxic compounds onboard.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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That said, there are risks to taking HRT, particularly for anyone who has ever had breast or endometrial cancer, a heart attack or stroke, blood clots, or liver disease.—
Erica Sloan,
SELF,
15 Sep. 2025
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Multiple myeloma is a chronic (long-term) blood cancer that affects plasma cells made in the bone marrow, which is spongy tissue found inside bones.—
Lindsay Curtis,
Health,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Also on display was a 1774 letter from King George III to Prime Minister Lord North, acknowledging the escalating rebellion in the American colonies and referencing the Boston Tea Party as a pivotal moment in deteriorating relations.—
Amanda Castro
Hannah Parry
Shane Croucher
Jack Royston,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Sep. 2025
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In the weeks after the phone call, the relationship between the two countries deteriorated.—
Thomas Wright,
The Atlantic,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Nearly two weeks after San Jose began dismantling its largest homeless encampment, the city is set to open its first-ever safe sleeping site, which will provide tents for dozens of the approximately 370 residents who have lived in dilapidated RVs and squalor at Columbus Park.—
Devan Patel,
Mercury News,
31 Aug. 2025
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The cottage retains its utopian squalor.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Canker.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/canker. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
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