# carcinogen vs carcinogenic

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### carcinogen
*noun · IPA /kɑɹˈsɪnəd͡ʒən/ · frequency rank #48,118*
A substance or agent that can cause cancer.

### carcinogenic
*adjective · IPA /ˌkɑː(ɹ)sɪnəˈd͡ʒɛnɪk/ · frequency rank #37,367*
Causing or tending to cause cancer.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/carcinogen-vs-carcinogenic