carcinogenic
CulturalExplanation
Something is carcinogenic if it has the potential to cause cancer. Asbestos, a material that was frequently used for insulation, was found to be carcinogenic, leading to laws regulating its use. To correctly pronounce carcinogenic, accent the fourth syllable: "car-sih-nuh-JEN-ick." Carcinogenic is related to the noun carcinogen, meaning "a cancer-causing substance." Both words come from carcinoma, or "malignant tumor" and -gen, a suffix that means "something produced." So something that is carcinogenic produces malignant tumors — cancer.
Vocabulary lists containing carcinogenic
2015 Spelling Bee - Words from Round 3
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"In praise and defense of grandiose, flowery, sesquipedalian words"
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Vocabulary from Readings 2, Unit 3
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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.
The tighter rules were in part based on EPA’s own scientific study that found it to be 60 times more carcinogenic than previously thought, which the agency now says should be reassessed.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026
What it is: The Environmental Management Commission adopts rules that protect the state’s air and water, such as those that regulate industries discharging potentially carcinogenic chemicals in rivers.
From Salon • Jan. 1, 2026
Proposition 65 requires businesses to place warnings on products—including many toys, clothing items and electronics—if they contain trace amounts of chemicals that the state has deemed potentially carcinogenic.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 21, 2025
Multi-billion-pound US manufacturer, 3M, failed to tell employees at its Swansea site they were using foam containing two forever chemicals, now classed as carcinogenic, despite knowing for decades of the health risks.
From BBC • Dec. 15, 2025
The scientific facts released by the Food and Drug Administration clearly indicate the carcinogenic nature of aminotriazole in laboratory rats.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
