gangrene

American  

[gang-green, gang-green] / ˈgæŋ grin, gæŋˈgrin /

noun

1. necrosis or death of soft tissue due to obstructed circulation, usually followed by decomposition and putrefaction.

2. moral or spiritual corruption and decadence that pervades an individual or group.

   “This church body has been afflicted with a spiritual gangrene that is poisoning our relationship with the Lord,” the preacher expostulated.

   Synonyms:

   degeneracy, depravity, rot, decay

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verb (used with or without object)

gangrened, gangrening

1. to affect or become affected with gangrene.

gangrene British  

/ ˈɡæŋɡriːn, ˈɡæŋɡrɪnəs /

noun

1. death and decay of tissue as the result of interrupted blood supply, disease, or injury

2. moral decay or corruption

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verb

1. to become or cause to become affected with gangrene

gangrene Scientific  

/ găng′grēn′ /

1. Death of tissue in a living body, especially in a limb, caused by a bacterial infection resulting from a blockage of the blood supply to the affected tissue.

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gangrene Cultural  

1. The death and decay of body tissue owing to insufficient supply of blood.

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Other Word Forms

• gangrenous adjective
• nongangrenous adjective
• ungangrened adjective
• ungangrenous adjective

Etymology

Origin of gangrene

First recorded in 1535–45; from Middle French gangrene (earlier cancrene ), from Latin gangraena, from Greek gángraina “an eating sore”

Compare meaning

How does gangrene compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• gangrene vs. necrosis

Example Sentences

Since January we have been following the case of Habiba Al-Askari, who came with her mother Rana in the hope doctors might be able to save three gangrene infected limbs - two arms, and a leg.

From BBC

Nursing employees told the investigators that the 69-year-old man, who had been admitted with gangrene on his feet, was often confused and sometimes tried to pull out his tubes.

From Los Angeles Times

By World War II, even as scientists were manufacturing gallons of phages to combat cholera, dysentery, and gangrene in Stalingrad and Leningrad, much the West had given up on phages.

From Salon

Her lower legs were amputated after she developed gangrene at age 7.

From Seattle Times

By the next morning, he said, much of his foot had turned purple, a sign that gangrene was setting in.

From New York Times

Related Words

• blight
• corrosion
• decomposition
• degeneration
• deterioration
• disintegration
• disrepair
• extinction
• impairment
• rot