canker
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Related to canker: citrus canker, canker sore
can·ker
(kăng′kər)n.
1. Ulceration of the mouth and lips.
2. An inflammation or infection of the ear and auditory canal, especially in dogs and cats.
3. A condition in horses similar to but more advanced than thrush.
4.
a. A localized diseased or necrotic area on a plant part, especially on a trunk, branch, or twig of a woody plant, usually caused by fungi or bacteria.
b. Any of several diseases of plants characterized by the presence of such lesions.
5. A source of spreading corruption or decay.
v. can·kered, can·ker·ing, can·kers
v.tr.
1. To attack or infect with canker.
2. To infect with corruption or decay.
v.intr.
To become infected with or as if with canker.
[Middle English, from Old English cancer and from Old French cancre, both from Latin cancer, crab, malignant disease; see kar- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
canker
(ˈkæŋkə)n
1. (Pathology) an ulceration, esp of the lips or lining of the oral cavity
2. (Veterinary Science) vet science
a. a disease of horses in which the horn of the hoofs becomes soft and spongy
b. an inflammation of the lining of the external ear, esp in dogs and cats, resulting in a discharge and sometimes ulceration
c. ulceration or abscess of the mouth, eyelids, ears, or cloaca of birds
3. (Plant Pathology) an open wound in the stem of a tree or shrub, caused by injury or parasites
4. something evil that spreads and corrupts
vb
(Pathology) to infect or become infected with or as if with canker
[Old English cancer, from Latin cancer crab, cancerous sore]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
can•ker
(ˈkæŋ kər)n.
1. a gangrenous or ulcerous sore, esp. in the mouth.
2. a defined area of diseased tissue, esp. in woody stems.
3. something that corrupts or destroys; blight.
v.t. 4. to infect with canker.
5. to corrupt; destroy slowly.
v.i. 6. to become infected with or as if with canker.
Also called can′ker sore` (for defs. 1,3).[before 1000; Middle English; Old English cancer < Latin;]
can′ker•ous, adj.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
canker
Past participle: cankered
Gerund: cankering
| Imperative |
|---|
| canker |
| canker |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. | canker - a fungal disease of woody plants that causes localized damage to the bark plant disease - a disease that affects plants |
| 2. |  canker - an ulceration (especially of the lips or lining of the mouth)ulceration - a circumscribed inflammatory and often suppurating lesion on the skin or an internal mucous surface resulting in necrosis of tissue | |
| 3. | canker - a pernicious and malign influence that is hard to get rid of; "racism is a pestilence at the heart of the nation"; "according to him, I was the canker in their midst" influence - a cognitive factor that tends to have an effect on what you do; "her wishes had a great influence on his thinking" | |
| Verb | 1. | canker - become infected with a canker |
| 2. | canker - infect with a canker infect - communicate a disease to; "Your children have infected you with this head cold" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
canker
noun
1. corruption, disease, cancer, infection, rot, blight, scourge, corrosion, bane The canker of anti-semitism is growing again in this country.
2. fungal disease In gardens, cankers are the most prominent on apple and pear trees.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
canker
nounverb2. To ruin utterly in character or quality:
animalize, bastardize, bestialize, brutalize, corrupt, debase, debauch, demoralize, deprave, pervert, stain, vitiate, warp.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
canker
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
can·ker
n. ulceración de la boca o los labios;
___ sore → afta, llaga ulcerosa.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012