Standard Lemma guide

precancerous

adj · 2 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.

  • /pɹiˈkænsəɹəs/
  • CMU ARPABET: P R IY0 K AE1 N S ER0 AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Of or pertaining to growth that is likely to develop into cancer.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Topics: medicine, oncology, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: premalignant

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: preneoplastic

2

adjective

Meaning 2

of or relating to a growth that is not malignant but is likely to become so if not treated

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per- Proto-Indo-European *preh2- Proto-Indo-European *-i Proto-Indo-European *préh2i? Proto-Italic *prai Proto-Italic *prai- Latin prae-lbor. Middle English pre- English pre- English cancerous English precancerous From pre- + cancerous.

Across languages

Translations

4 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Czech: prekancerózní — of or pertaining to growth that is likely to develop into cancer
  • Greek: προκαρκινικός (prokarkinikós) — of or pertaining to growth that is likely to develop into cancer
  • Irish: réamhailseach — of or pertaining to growth that is likely to develop into cancer
  • Italian: precanceroso — of or pertaining to growth that is likely to develop into cancer