What does "gangrene" mean?
The necrosis and rotting of flesh, usually caused by lack of blood supply.
Gangrene
/ˈɡæŋˌɡɹin/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The necrosis and rotting of flesh, usually caused by lack of blood supply.
- Grammar: gangrene is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: necrosis, break up, canker, caries.
- Useful contrasts: dry gangrene, health.
- Usage evidence: Tom's foot had to be amputated after it had become infected with gangrene following a severe frostbite.
How to use "gangrene"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "gangrene" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "gangrene" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "gangrene" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "gangrene" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "gangrene" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "necrosis" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "gangrene", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The necrosis and rotting of flesh, usually caused by lack of blood supply. countable, uncountable
"If gangrene sets in, we may have to amputate the foot."
- 2 the localized death of living cells (as from infection or the interruption of blood supply) wordnet
- 3 A damaging or corrupting influence. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"Women should earn equal wages with men for equal work done. Child marriages and polygamy are a gangrene on society."
- 4 necrotic tissue; a mortified or gangrenous part or mass wordnet
Verb
- 1 To produce gangrene in. transitive
"Vulneration or section sometimes procures a Gangrene, when the vital Principle is so debilitated, or enormous by the would, that instead of a good suppuration and vigorous transmutation, a depraved matter is generated, which corrupts and gangrenes the part: and thus a small cut of a finger or Toe hath gangrened, and killed the person: but in greater Wounds, the danger is greater, as more frequently to happen."
- 2 undergo necrosis wordnet
- 3 To be affected with gangrene. intransitive
"If a man had a sore leg, and he should go to an honest, judicious chirurgeon, and he should only bid him keep it warm, and anoint it with such an oil, (an oil well known) that would do the cure; haply he would not much regard him, because he knows the medicine, beforehand an ordinary medicine; but if he should go to a surgeon that should tell him, your leg will gangrene within three days, and it must be cut off, and you will die, unless you do something that I could tell you, what listening there would be to this man?"
- 4 To corrupt; To cause to become degenerate. transitive
"That is true,” replied Almira, “nothing can be performed without labor, and where there is labor there will be discontent, and where there is no labor there will be heart-burning and jealousy about insignificant trifles, such as gangrenes the real pleasures of contemplation within these walls; walls, which would otherwise hold out an asylum, much to be prized by those who have been unfortunate, who have lost all their friends, or who are weary of the world.""
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
dry gangrenehealth
Example
"Tom's foot had to be amputated after it had become infected with gangrene following a severe frostbite."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "gangrene"?
Common synonyms include: necrosis, break up, canker, caries, carrion, clostridial gangrene.
How do you use "gangrene" in a sentence?
Tom's foot had to be amputated after it had become infected with gangrene following a severe frostbite.
How do you pronounce "gangrene"?
Pronounced /ˈɡæŋˌɡɹin/.
Etymology
From French gangrène, from Latin gangraena, from Ancient Greek γάγγραινα (gángraina, “gangrene”).