cancerous

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈkænsərəs/ UK /ˈkænsərəs/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
relating to or affected by cancer; malignantly spreading

The biopsy revealed a small cancerous growth.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · relating to or affected by... malignantcarcinogenictumorousspreading

Opposites

benign healthy

Word family

Derived forms cancerously

Related forms cancercarcinomacarcinogen

Etymology

From cancer + -ous. Cancer is from Latin cancer ('crab, malignant tumor'), so named because the swollen veins around a tumor resembled crab legs; akin to Greek karkinos.

cancer Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# cancerous

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈkænsərəs/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkænsərəs/

## Meanings
1. relating to or affected by cancer; malignantly spreading

## Examples
- The biopsy revealed a small cancerous growth.

## Synonyms
- malignant
- carcinogenic
- tumorous
- spreading

## Antonyms
- benign
- healthy

## Derived Forms
- cancerously

## Related Forms
- cancer
- carcinoma
- carcinogen

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: cancer

## Etymology
From cancer + -ous. Cancer is from Latin cancer ('crab, malignant tumor'), so named because the swollen veins around a tumor resembled crab legs; akin to Greek karkinos.

## AI Etymology
Cancerous comes from cancer + -ous. Cancer is from Latin cancer ('crab, malignant tumor'), so named because the swollen veins around a tumor resembled crab legs; akin to Greek karkinos. The historical trail runs through cancer in Latin. Morphologically, cancerous is transparent: it draws on cancer + -ous. Used as an adjective, cancerous now means "relating to or affected by cancer; malignantly spreading", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in derived forms such as cancerously and related forms such as cancer, carcinoma, and carcinogen. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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