canker

(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. 1. 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.
   2. Any of several diseases of plants characterized by the presence of such lesions.
5. A source of spreading corruption or decay.

v., -kered, -ker·ing, -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.]

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noun

Anything that is injurious, destructive, or fatal: bane, contagion, poison, toxin, venom, virus. See help/harm/harmless.

verb

1. To have a destructive effect on: envenom, infect, poison. Archaic empoison. See help/harm/harmless.
2. To ruin utterly in character or quality: animalize, bastardize, bestialize, brutalize, corrupt, debase, debauch, demoralize, deprave, pervert, stain, vitiate, warp. See clean/dirty, help/harm/harmless.

A sunken area, sometimes soft or rotten, on woody stems or twigs. It can be caused by several kinds of fungi or bacteria.

IN BRIEF: A spreading sore. Also: An area of dead tissue in a plant.

The old oak tree had a huge canker on its side.

Tutor's tip: "Cancer" is a malignant growth in the body or a wicked, spreading action or idea, a "canker" is a sore in the mouth, while a "chancre" is an ulcer caused by venereal disease.

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

Ulceration, especially (1) of the lip or oral mucosa; (2) in horses of the horn of the sole of the foot; (3) often used erroneously to describe otitis externa.

Severe canker in the frog of a horse's hoof. By permission from Hinchcliff KW, Kaneps AJ, Equine Sports Medicine and Surgery, Saunders, 2004

• avian c. — disease of birds caused by Trichomonas gallinae and characterized by accumulations of caseous material in the throat.
• ear c. — see ear canker.
• equine c. — chronic hypertrophy and necrosis of the horn-producing tissues of the horse's foot, usually a hindfoot. The horn is shed or easily removed from a swollen and necrotic corium. There is lameness and a penetrating foul odor.
• lapine c. — inflammation of the ears of rabbits caused by the mites Psoroptes communis or Chorioptes cuniculi. The ear canal is filled with an accumulation of serum and sebaceous material.

For a list of words related to canker, see:

• Afflictions and Conditions - canker: cancrum

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See words rhyming with "canker."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Canker.

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - kræft, hovkræft, fugtig gangræn, kræftskade
v. tr. - æde, fordærve
v. intr. - fordærves, forgiftes

Nederlands (Dutch)
kanker, bladrups, gangreen, (ver)kankeren

Français (French)
n. - (Méd) ulcère, (Vét) otite externe, crapaud (des chevaux), chancre, (Bot, fig) chancre
v. tr. - (Méd) ronger, s'infecter, pourrir, se corrompre
v. intr. - (Méd) ronger, s'infecter

Deutsch (German)
n. - (Krebs)geschwür, Strahlfäule, Ohrräude
v. - verrotten, vergiften

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - σαράκι (φυτών), έλκος, πληγή, (μτφ.) καρκίνωμα
v. - κατατρώγω, μολύνω

Italiano (Italian)
stomatite, cancro, ulcerare, infettare, corrompere

Português (Portuguese)
n. - ulceração (f) (Med.), estomatite (f) aftosa (Med.)
v. - ulcerar, corromper (fig.)

Русский (Russian)
стоматит, рак растений, разъедать

Español (Spanish)
n. - úlcera, llaga gangrenosa
v. tr. - gangrenar, ulcerar, corromper
v. intr. - gangrenarse, ulcerarse, corromperse, formar úlcera, o gangrena

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - munsår, lövträdskräfta, kräftsvulst
v. - fräta(s) upp, fördärvas

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
溃疡, 腐败, 癌肿病, 使患溃疡, 使腐蚀, 患溃疡, 溃烂, 腐蚀

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 潰瘍, 腐敗, 癌腫病
v. tr. - 使患潰瘍, 使腐蝕
v. intr. - 患潰瘍, 潰爛, 腐蝕

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 옹, 구강궤양, 해독
v. tr. - 옹이 나게 하다, 해충이 꾀다
v. intr. - 옹이 나다, 부패하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 潰瘍, 癌腫病, 害毒

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) الآكله, قرحه (فعل) يفسد, يتقرح‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מחלה פטרייתית הרסנית בעצים וצמחים, הופעת כיבים בייחוד בשפתיים, מחלה כיבית של חיות בייחוד כלבים וחתולים, השפעה משחיתה‬
v. tr. - ‮איכל, פצע, הרס, קלקל, השחית‬
v. intr. - ‮נפגע‬

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