Standard Lemma guide

carcinogenic

adj · noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˌkɑː(ɹ)sɪnəˈd͡ʒɛnɪk/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɛnɪk
  • CMU ARPABET: K AA2 R S AH0 N OW0 JH EH1 N IH0 K Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Causing or tending to cause cancer.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cancerogenic

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Synonym of carcinogen.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: carcinogen

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective

Meaning 3

causing or tending to cause cancer

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the carcinogenic action of certain chemicals

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English carcino- Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh1- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh1os Proto-Hellenic *génos Ancient Greek γένος (génos) Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-ēs Ancient Greek -ης (-ēs) Ancient Greek -γενής (-genḗs)lbor. French -gènebor. Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icuslbor. Old French -iquebor. Middle English -ik English -ic English -genic English carcinogenic From carcino- + -genic.

Across languages

Translations

46 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: مُسَرْطِن (musarṭin) — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Armenian: քաղցկեղածին (kʻaġcʻkeġacin) — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Belarusian: канцэрагенны (kancerahjenny) — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Catalan: cancerigen — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Catalan: carcinogen — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Chinese Mandarin: 致癌的 (zhì'ái de) — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Czech: karcinogenní — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Danish: kræftfremkaldende — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Danish: karcinogen — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Dutch: kankerverwekkend — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Esperanto: kanceriga — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Finnish: syöpää aiheuttava — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Finnish: karsinogeeninen — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • French: cancérigène — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • French: carcinogène — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • German: krebserregend — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • German: karzinogen — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Greek: καρκινογόνος (karkinogónos) — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Hungarian: karcinogén — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Hungarian: rákokozó — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Hungarian: rákkeltő — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Indonesian: karsinogenik — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Irish: carcanaigineach — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Italian: cancerogeno — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Japanese: 発癌性 (hatsugansei) — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Malay: karsinogenik — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Norwegian Bokmål: kreftfremkallende — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Norwegian Bokmål: karsinogen — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Polish: rakotwórczy — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Polish: kancerogenny — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Portuguese: cancerígeno — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Portuguese: carcinogênico — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Portuguese: carcinogénico — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Romanian: cancerigen — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Romanian: carcinogen — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Russian: канцерогенный (kancerogennyj) — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Serbo-Croatian: karcinogen — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Serbo-Croatian: kȁncerogēn — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Slovak: karciogénny — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Spanish: cancerígeno — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Swedish: carcinogen — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Swedish: karcinogen — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Swedish: cancerframkallande — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Swedish: cancerogen — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Turkish: kanserojen — causing or tending to cause cancer
  • Ukrainian: канцероге́нний (kancerohénnyj) — causing or tending to cause cancer