the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > [noun] > a harmful thing or person > thing > slow or stealthy (6)
figurative. A malignant or destructive influence that corrodes or corrupts, and is difficult to eradicate.
figurative. A highly malignant and corrupting influence that spreads and consumes, in the manner of a cankerworm.
figurative and in figurative contexts. A malignant or destructive influence, likened to cancer in its tendency to spread, corrupt, and corrode, and…
figurative. Applied to stealthy or insidious methods of attacking or destroying something.