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poison
[ poi-zuhn ]
noun
- a substance with an inherent property that tends to destroy life or impair health.
- something harmful or pernicious, as to happiness or well-being:
the poison of slander.
- Slang. any variety of alcoholic liquor:
Name your poison!
verb (used with object)
- to administer poison to (a person or animal).
- to kill or injure with or as if with poison.
- to put poison into or upon; saturate with poison:
to poison food.
- to ruin, vitiate, or corrupt:
Hatred had poisoned his mind.
Synonyms: taint, pollute, contaminate
- Chemistry. to destroy or diminish the activity of (a catalyst or enzyme).
adjective
- causing poisoning; poisonous:
a poison shrub.
poison
/ ˈpɔɪzən /
noun
- any substance that can impair function, cause structural damage, or otherwise injure the body toxic
- something that destroys, corrupts, etc
the poison of fascism
- a substance that retards a chemical reaction or destroys or inhibits the activity of a catalyst
- a substance that absorbs neutrons in a nuclear reactor and thus slows down the reaction. It may be added deliberately or formed during fission
- what's your poison? informal.what would you like to drink?
verb
- to give poison to (a person or animal) esp with intent to kill
- to add poison to
- to taint or infect with or as if with poison
- foll by against to turn (a person's mind) against
he poisoned her mind against me
- to retard or stop (a chemical or nuclear reaction) by the action of a poison
- to inhibit or destroy (the activity of a catalyst) by the action of a poison
Derived Forms
- ˈpoisoner, noun
Other Words From
- poison·er noun
- poison·less adjective
- poison·less·ness noun
- outpoison verb (used with object)
- self-poison·er noun
- un·poisoned adjective
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of poison1
Idioms and Phrases
In addition to the idiom beginning with poison , also see one man's meat is another man's poison .Synonym Study
Example Sentences
Worse yet, it poisons the well of information from which we all drink.
What Trump is offering to his supporters is pretty close to pure poison — lies, grievance and division.
Dorset Police, who previously said carbon monoxide poisoning was a possible cause, said the deaths were still being treated as "unexplained".
The former chief medical officer for England said she had experienced nightmares about someone picking up discarded nerve agent after the poisoning of a former spy.
Police investigating the nerve agent poisoning of an ex-Russian spy were told he was not living in the area and they were "overreacting".
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More About Poison
What does poison mean?
A poison is a substance that causes bodily harm or destroys health, The vile was filled with a deadly poison.
In this sense, poison can be used as a verb to mean to give poison to a living thing, as in The farmer poisoned his rival’s sheep.
Poison can also mean to harm or kill a living thing with poison, as in The king died because he had been poisoned by one of his own knights.
And poison can mean to add poison to something, as in The knight poisoned the king’s wine to achieve his wicked goal.
More generally, poison can be used to refer to any harmful or corruptive thing, as in Trevor was doomed by the poison of gambling.
In this sense, you can use poison as a verb as well, as in Isabelle’s mind was poisoned by the lies contained in the forbidden books.
Finally, poison can be used as an adjective to mean something that can cause poisoning, as in There are many poison plants in the woods.
Something that contains poison is said to be poisonous, as in He went to the hospital after being bitten by a poisonous spider.
Example: Because we handle chemicals that are dangerous poisons in our lab, we take many safety precautions.
Where does poison come from?
The first records of the word poison come from around 1200. It ultimately comes from the Latin pōtiōn-, a stem of pōtiō that means “a drink, potion or poisonous draught.” Even the ancient Romans knew that some substances were dangerous to drink or eat.
The words toxin and venom are used to describe specific kinds of poisons. Toxin refers to poisons made by organisms, especially those that bacteria or fungi release. Venom most often refers to the poisons of animals, which are injected into victims by bites or stings, such as from snakes or scorpions.
As with all chemicals that are potentially deadly or dangerous, items that can be poisonous are clearly labelled with warnings. Bug sprays and rat poison are just two examples of things you can buy at the store that will have warnings like this.
Did you know … ?
What are some other forms related to poison?
- poisoner (noun)
- poisonless (adjective)
- poisonlessness (noun)
- outpoison (verb)
What are some synonyms for poison?
What are some words that share a root or word element with poison?
What are some words that often get used in discussing poison?
How is poison used in real life?
Poison is a common word used to describe something that is literally or figuratively harmful.
According to CNN, a suspicious letter has been sent to the U.S. Senate. The letter has tested positive for ricin, a deadly poison.
— WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) April 16, 2013
BERLIN (AP) — The German hospital treating Russian dissident Alexei Navalny says tests indicate that he was poisoned.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 24, 2020
Honestly I think social media is a poison.
— Austin Cates (@Amanforthewin) May 1, 2017
Try using poison!
True or False?
A poison is a substance that can damage the body or cause death.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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