cancer
[noun]
Synonyms: growth, corruption, malignancy, pestilence, sickness, tumour

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English Thesaurus: astrology, horoscope, the signs of the zodiac, star sign/sign, Aries, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

Cancer noun
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Latin; Origin: cancer]

1. [uncountable] the fourth sign of the zodiac, represented by a crab, which some people believe affects the character and life of people born between June 22 and July 23

2. (also Can·cer·i·an /kænˈsɪəriən $ -ˈsɪr-/) [countable] someone who was born between June 22 and July 23
—Cancerian adjective

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

can‧cer S2 W2 /ˈkænsə $ -ər/ noun
[Date: 1600-1700; Language: Latin; Origin: 'crab, cancer']

1. [uncountable and countable] a very serious disease in which cells in one part of the body start to grow in a way that is not normal ⇒ tumour:
A lot of cancers can now be treated successfully.
lung/breast/stomach etc cancer
Smoking causes lung cancer.
She was told last year that she had cancer.
He died of cancer last month.
cancer of
cancer of the womb
a new treatment which effectively kills cancer cells

2. [countable] an evil influence that affects a lot of people and is difficult to stop:
Drug abuse is the cancer of our society.
—cancerous adjective:
a cancerous growth
cancerous cells

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

cancer
noun
ADJ. breast, cervical, lung, prostate, skin, etc.
VERB + CANCER have, suffer from | contract, get, develop | cause | screen sb for Most of the women employees have now been screened for breast cancer.
diagnose | die from/of
CANCER + VERB spread The cancer has spread to his stomach.
CANCER + NOUN cell | patient, sufferer, victim | risk The cancer risk among smokers was found to be higher.
research | drug, treatment
PHRASES a battle/struggle against cancer He died after an 18-month battle against cancer.
 ⇒ Special page at ILLNESS

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

cancer
noun
BAD: Her husband died 10 years ago of a lung cancer.
GOOD: Her husband died 10 years ago of lung cancer.

Usage Note:
cancer (uncountable) = a type of serious disease: 'It is generally believed that diet plays an important role in the prevention of cancer.' 'Skin cancer is related to prolonged exposure to sunlight.'
a cancer (countable) = an abnormal growth in someone's body which is caused by this disease; tumour: 'Some small cancers may be destroyed by the body's defence mechanisms.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

astrology the study of the positions and movements of the stars and how they might influence people and events:
Do you believe in astrology?
The science of astrology has existed for thousands of years.
horoscope a description of people’s characters and the things that will happen to them, based on the position of the stars and planets at the time of their birth – especially a description that is printed in a newspaper or magazine:
I sometimes read my horoscope in the daily paper.
My horoscope says that I should be careful about investing money.
the signs of the zodiac the twelve signs that you can belong to according to your birth date and the position of the stars then, which some people believe influence our characters and our lives:
The carving shows the twelve signs of the zodiac.
star sign/sign one of the 12 signs of the zodiac:
What sign are you?
My favourite star sign is Aquarius.
Aries the first sign of the zodiac, which is represented by a ram. People born between March 21 and April 20 belong to this sign.
Taurus the second sign of the zodiac, represented by a bull. People born between April 21 and May 21 belong to this sign.
Gemini the third sign of the zodiac, represented by TWINS. People born between May 22 and June 21 belong to this sign.
Cancer the fourth sign of the zodiac, represented by a crab. People born between June 22 and July 23 belong to this sign.
Leo the fifth sign of the zodiac, represented by a lion. People born between July 24 and August 23 belong to this sign.
Virgo the sixth sign of the zodiac, represented by a young woman. People born between August 24 and September 23 belong to this sign.
Libra the seventh sign of the zodiac, represented by a pair of Scales. People born between September 24 and October 23 belong to this sign.
Scorpio the eighth sign of the zodiac, represented by a scorpion. People born between October 24 and November 22 belong to this sign.
Sagittarius the ninth sign of the zodiac, represented by an animal that is half horse and half human, carrying a bow and arrow. People born between November 23 and December 21 belong to this sign.
Capricorn the tenth sign of the zodiac, represented by a goat. People born between December 22 and January 20 belong to this sign.
Aquarius the 11th sign of the zodiac, represented by a man carrying water. People born between January 21 and February 19 belong to this sign.
Pisces the 12th sign of the zodiac, represented by a pair of fish. People born between February 20 and March 20 belong to this sign.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲