cankered
Americanadjective
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morally corrupt.
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(of plants)
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destroyed or having portions destroyed by the feeding of a cankerworm.
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having a cankerous part; infected with a canker.
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of cankered
late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at canker, -ed 3
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He has suffered for it: his health debilitated by frequent hunger strikes, his knees cankered with sores from long sessions of prayer, according to prison officials.
From Time • Jul. 28, 2010
Hamlet paused before coming to his point “I wish to discover whether a surgeon, by cutting out the cankered spot, could restore the vital spirit to perfection.”
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
Most of the Pyrus root deeply, and if the soil is not properly prepared in the first place they are apt to fail and get cankered.
From Trees and Shrubs for English Gardens by Cook, Ernest Thomas
The strong growers need hardly any pruning, except Maréchal Niel, which must have all cankered and weak shoots removed after it has flowered.
From Roses and Rose Growing by Kingsley, Rose Georgina
One of them spoke of such charming impudence, and George looked at her with his cankered eye.
From A Yankee from the West A Novel by Read, Opie Percival
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
