cancerous

/ˈkænsəɹəs/

//ˈkænsəɹəs// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"cancerous" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cancerous” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #23,772. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#23,772
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
13
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Relating to or affected with cancer.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cancerous · cancerous · English

cancerous · rank #23,772 · 13 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #23,772
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH byte

Nearest frequency peer: byte (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “cancerous”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “cancerous” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cancerous
PropertyValue
Headwordcancerous
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈkænsəɹəs/
Letters9
Frequency rank#23,772
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “cancerous”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).cancerouslands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “byte” (#23,771), “carat” (#23,773), “buyout” (#23,770). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cancerous” is #23,772. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around cancerous (IPA /ˈkænsəɹəs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #23,772 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for cancerous, with forms such as "acncerous", "cacnerous", and "canccerous". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English cancerous, from Latin cancerōsus, from cancer (“crab; tumor, cancer”) + -ōsus (adjective-forming suffix). By surface analysis, cancer + -ous. The correct English form is cancerous, spelled C-A-N-C-E-R-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Relating to or affected with cancer.
  2. 2
    Growing or spreading rapidly to the point of harm.
  3. 3
    Extremely unpleasant; detestable.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how cancerous appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. On Sunday at five they operated to remove the cancerous kidney.
  2. A pilot study conducted in 2023 by the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the Erlangen University Hospital in Germany involved 104 patients and concluded that clinical breast examinations by MTEs who were visually impaired were as accurate in identifying potentially cancerous tumors as doctors trained in this procedure.

Etymology

From Middle English cancerous, from Latin cancerōsus, from cancer (“crab; tumor, cancer”) + -ōsus (adjective-forming suffix). By surface analysis, cancer + -ous.

Antonyms

noncancerous

This word in other languages

cancéreux(Français)krebsartig(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • acncerous
  • cacnerous
  • canccerous
  • canceorus
  • cancerosu
  • cancerouss
  • cancerrous
  • canceruos
  • cancreous
  • canecrous
  • canncerous
  • ccancerous
  • cnacerous

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cancerous - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

acncerous2cacnerous2canccerous1canceorus2cancerosu2cancerouss1cancerrous1canceruos2
Edit distance from "cancerous"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cancerous"?
"cancerous" is spelled C-A-N-C-E-R-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkænsəɹəs/.
What does "cancerous" mean?
As an adjective, "cancerous" means: Relating to or affected with cancer.
What are common misspellings of "cancerous"?
Common misspellings include "acncerous", "cacnerous", "canccerous", "canceorus", "cancerosu". The correct spelling is "cancerous".
How do you pronounce "cancerous"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cancerous" is /ˈkænsəɹəs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "cancerous"?
From Middle English cancerous, from Latin cancerōsus, from cancer (“crab; tumor, cancer”) + -ōsus (adjective-forming suffix). By surface analysis, cancer + -ous. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "cancerous", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

carcinoma#23,774bombshell#23,762Blanchard#23,761conserved#23,787

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

corrugated13 variantsauctioneer13 variantsattainment13 variantsworkflow13 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list