GANGRENE Synonyms: 34 Similar and Opposite Words

gangrene

noun

Definition of gangrene

as in rot

a pervasive moral or social decay a society beset by moral gangrene

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of gangrene The researchers made their conclusion after discovering fungal material rather than the bacterial agents in gangrene in a piece of Louis XIV's heart, which is stored in the Basilica of Saint-Denis in Paris. — Gabrielle Rockson, PEOPLE, 9 Dec. 2025 In a case from just last year, a lawsuit alleges the then-resident suffered from deterioration of wounds and gangrene. — Kevin G. Hall, Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025 One of the more serious symptoms of diabetes is foot ulcers, which can go largely unnoticed, turn into a blister, and develop into gangrene or sepsis before requiring an amputation. — Peter Aitken, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Sep. 2025 At one site in Lancaster, a 69-year-old man being treated for gangrene died after a nurse gave him a four-drug cocktail that included the painkiller Norco and the sedative Ativan, state investigators reported. — Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for gangrene

Recent Examples of Synonyms for gangrene

Noun

When the plant roots encounter an area acidified by decaying plant matter—a chemical gradient distinct from that of animal matter—ABA builds up on the side facing the rot, encouraging growth in the other direction.

— Joanna Thompson, Scientific American, 17 Oct. 2026
And to manage context rot, feeding your agents only the context required for their current step may not be enough.

— Klaudia Zaika, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of rot

Noun

Talarico’s success so far can partly be chalked up to voters’ apprehensions toward Paxton, who faced questions in his past over corruption, including being impeached by his own party in the Texas legislature.

— ABC News, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026
Blagojevich was impeached, removed from office by a unanimous 59-0 Illinois Senate vote and convicted of federal corruption offenses.

— Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of corruption

Noun

Rather than doing a literal adaptation, the creators kept the book’s DNA and tweaked the ideas of evil, temptation and power with a contemporary twist.

— Annika Pham, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
But disagreement does not necessarily mean that one side possesses wisdom while the other possesses ignorance or evil.

— Rabbi Bruce D. Forman, Sun Sentinel, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of evil

Noun

The degradation is shameful, and shamefully compelling to read about.

— James Wood, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
The work also revises some degradation mechanisms described in earlier scientific literature, which the researchers said had relied largely on assumptions rather than experimental evidence.

— Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of degradation

Noun

But soon after, in Genesis 18, God tells Abraham of plans to investigate reports of sinfulness in Sodom and Gomorrah.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 July 2026
Denver author Josiah Hesse was raised by Evangelical parents in churches that believe in the torments of hell, that their poverty is due to their sinfulness and lack of faith.

— Sandra Dallas, Denver Post, 1 Feb. 2026

Definition of sinfulness

Noun

The Yolo County parents of a 7-day-old infant found living in squalor in a tent under an overpass have pleaded not guilty to the child endangerment charges against them, records show.

— Fedor Zarkhin, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026
Bryant was charged in February 2025 with first-degree child abuse after investigators found that her children — at the time ages 12, 13, and 15 — had been living alone for at least four years in a townhouse on Lydia Lane, trapped in squalor.

— Andrea May Sahouri, Freep.com, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of squalor

Noun

Since the middle of the twentieth century, societies around the globe have undergone a collective revolution in standards and attitudes towards obscenity and immorality.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026
Independents said the worst thing about Republicans was their loyalty to Trump (10%), perceptions of corruption and self-enrichment (8%), dishonesty, hypocrisy or immorality (7%), a lack of concern for ordinary people or cruelty (6%), and ineffective and weak or unqualified leadership (5%).

— Emily Guskin, ABC News, 27 May 2026

Definition of immorality

Noun

The bleachy sunlight is just right, as is the shrugging acceptance that this town’s strivers must accept a fair amount of filth.

— Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
Too many rodents, too much filth and too little sanitizer led inspectors to shut down a Miami ramen restaurant for a couple of days last week.

— David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of filth

Browse Nearby Words

gangly

gangrene

gangrenous

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Gangrene.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gangrene. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of gangrene

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on gangrene

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

vocation

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes