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

Explanation

You don't want gangrene, that's for sure. It's the infection that can develop around a wound that kills the tissue, turning it into a terrible stinking sore. In the days before antibiotics even the smallest scratch could lead to gangrene, and doctors would often cut off a finger or even a limb and then seal it with a red hot poker rather than risk the infection spreading. Special surgeons known as sawbones were famed for the speed they could amputate a limb to avoid gangrene setting in. Enough to stop you ever being nostalgic about the good old days.

Example Sentences

He learned to patch up injured men in below-deck sea cabins, where gangrene turned a wound black and rotten.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026

On 28 June, the family were told Mr Trotter had a condition called Fournier's gangrene and nothing more could be done.

From BBC • Jan. 20, 2026

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 • Mar. 20, 2025

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 • Nov. 20, 2024

The doctor tells Mr. Hannon he has to go to the hospital or it’s a case of gangrene he’ll have and the doctor won’t be responsible.

From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt

Related Words

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