Can·ker v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cankered p. pr. & vb. n. Cankering.]
1. To affect as a canker; to eat away; to corrode; to consume.
No lapse of moons can canker Love. --Tennyson.
2. To infect or pollute; to corrupt.
A tithe purloined cankers the whole estate. --Herbert.