metastasize

[ muh-tas-tuh-sahyz ]

verb (used without object)

, me·tas·ta·sized, me·tas·ta·siz·ing.

1. Pathology. (of malignant cells or disease-producing organisms) to spread to other parts of the body by way of the blood or lymphatic vessels or membranous surfaces.
2. to spread injuriously:

   Street gangs have metastasized in our city.

3. to transform, especially into a dangerous form:

   The KGB metastasized after the fall of the Soviet Union. Truth metastasized into lurid fantasy.

metastasize

/ mɪˈtæstəˌsaɪz /

verb

1. pathol (esp of cancer cells) to spread to a new site in the body via blood or lymph vessels
2. (of a problem) to deteriorate or spread into new areas

Word History and Origins

Origin of metastasize¹

First recorded in 1905–10; metastas(is) + -ize

Example Sentences

By October 2023, her scans showed that the cancer had metastasized up her spine, through her hips, into her lymph nodes and “almost everywhere but my brain.”

From Los Angeles Times

It’s been a bit unnerving to see how quickly this process has metastasized.

From Salon

Every man in the film is repellent, even the hunks, and as the film goes on, they metastasize into an anonymous graying horde.

From Los Angeles Times

Roberts dissolved into his character, a manipulative small-time hustler whose self-hatred metastasizes into murderous rage.

From Los Angeles Times

“The lie and the logic of January 6 is a sickness. It is a kind of cancer that then metastasized into dozens of voter suppression laws across our country,” he said.

From Salon

Related Words

• clean
• drain
• dribble
• leak
• penetrate
• percolate
• permeate
• refine
• sift
• trickle
• winnow