Meaning & use
carcinogen
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountablemedicaltechnical
A substance or agent that can cause cancer in living tissue.
Grammar: Countable: tobacco smoke contains many carcinogens.
Patterns
- a known carcinogen
- exposure to a carcinogen
- a carcinogen in something
Asbestos is a well-known carcinogen and is now banned in many countries.
The report listed several carcinogens found in processed meats.
Workers who handle the chemical must wear masks because it is a suspected carcinogen.
nouncountablefigurative
Something that encourages the growth or spread of cancer in a figurative or extended sense.
Grammar: Used figuratively, often in writing about society or behavior, not in medical contexts.
Patterns
- a carcinogen in society
- a social carcinogen
The author called misinformation a carcinogen that slowly damages public trust.
Some critics describe the industry's secrecy as a carcinogen inside the company.
Word forms
| plural | carcinogens |
|---|
Common combinations
- a known carcinogen
- Formaldehyde is classified as a known carcinogen.
- exposure to a carcinogen
- Long-term exposure to a carcinogen raises the risk of cancer.
- a suspected carcinogen
- The pesticide is a suspected carcinogen and is being reviewed.
- a chemical carcinogen
- The lab studies how a chemical carcinogen affects cells.
- a group of carcinogens
- Scientists identified a group of carcinogens in the smoke.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cancer-causing agent
- A plain descriptive phrase; carcinogen is the precise scientific term.
- toxin
- A toxin is a poison produced by an organism; a carcinogen specifically causes cancer and may not be a toxin.
- mutagen
- A mutagen causes changes in DNA, which may or may not lead to cancer; a carcinogen is defined by its link to cancer.
Word family
- carcinogenic adjective
- Able to cause cancer.
- carcinogenicity noun
- The quality or fact of being able to cause cancer.
- carcinoma noun
- A type of cancer that begins in skin or tissue lining.
Commonly confused: carcinogen or carcinogenic? carcinogen or carcinoid?
carcinogen vs carcinogenic
Carcinogenic is the adjective (a carcinogenic substance); carcinogen is the noun (a substance that causes cancer).
carcinogen vs carcinoid
A carcinoid is a slow-growing type of tumor; a carcinogen is something that can cause cancer.
Practice
Choose the sentence that uses 'carcinogen' correctly.
Choose one answer.
A carcinogen is a substance that can cause cancer, so a warning label fits. Option 1 confuses it with a tumor, option 3 treats it as a medicine, and option 4 treats it as a disease that spreads.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “carcinogen”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.