poison
Americannoun
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poisons
plural
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a substance with an inherent property that tends to destroy life or impair health.
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something harmful or pernicious, as to happiness or well-being.
the poison of slander.
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Slang. any variety of alcoholic liquor.
Name your poison!
verb (used with object)
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poisons,
present (3rd person singular)
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poisoned,
past participle, past
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poisoning
present participle
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to administer poison to (a person or animal).
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to kill or injure with or as if with poison.
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to put poison into or upon; saturate with poison.
to poison food.
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to ruin, vitiate, or corrupt.
Hatred had poisoned his mind.
- Synonyms:
- taint, pollute, contaminate
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Chemistry. to destroy or diminish the activity of (a catalyst or enzyme).
adjective
noun
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any substance that can impair function, cause structural damage, or otherwise injure the body
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something that destroys, corrupts, etc
the poison of fascism
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a substance that retards a chemical reaction or destroys or inhibits the activity of a catalyst
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a substance that absorbs neutrons in a nuclear reactor and thus slows down the reaction. It may be added deliberately or formed during fission
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informal what would you like to drink?
verb
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to give poison to (a person or animal) esp with intent to kill
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to add poison to
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to taint or infect with or as if with poison
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(foll by against) to turn (a person's mind) against
he poisoned her mind against me
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to retard or stop (a chemical or nuclear reaction) by the action of a poison
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to inhibit or destroy (the activity of a catalyst) by the action of a poison
Usage
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.
Synonym Usage
Poison, toxin, venom are terms for any substance that injures the health or destroys life when absorbed into the system, especially of a higher animal. Poison is the general word: a poison for insects. A toxin is a poison produced by an organism; it is especially used in medicine in reference to disease-causing bacterial secretions: A toxin produces diphtheria. Venom is especially used of the poisons secreted by certain animals, usually injected by bite or sting: the venom of a snake.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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poisonernoun
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poisonlessnessnoun
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self-poisonernoun
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outpoisonverb (used with object)
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poisonlessadjective
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unpoisonedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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poisonsimple
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poisonssimple
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have poisonedperfect
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has poisonedperfect
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am poisoningprogressive
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are poisoningprogressive
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is poisoningprogressive
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have been poisoningperfect progressive
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has been poisoningperfect progressive
Past
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poisonedsimple
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had poisonedperfect
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was poisoningprogressive
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were poisoningprogressive
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had been poisoningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of poison
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English puisun, from Old French, from Latin pōtiōn- (stem of pōtiō ) “drink, potion, poisonous draught.” See potion.
Explanation
Poison is a substance that can harm or even kill you. Arsenic and cyanide are both types of poison—so stay away from them! Mean people can also be poison, so stay away from them too. Poison refers to the harmful substance itself, or the act of giving it to someone. Poison often shows up in murder mysteries because it’s a sneaky way to get rid of someone. We also use poison metaphorically for things that tend to ruin something. A really obnoxious friend who always insists that he knows more than everyone else might poison the atmosphere at a dinner party. Jealousy can poison a good relationship.
Vocabulary lists containing poison
"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act V
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Words from Shakespearean Insults
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
One was so indifferent to tourists, no one bothered to rip the vines of poison ivy off the tree trunks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
A British woman, one of the survivors of Canadian poison seller Kenneth Law, faced him in court on Wednesday to describe how he had exploited her vulnerability.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Analysts led by Matthew Lofting gently characterized BP’s recent tumultuous history as “chequered” but said the company’s balance sheet improvement means the stock is “no longer a poison pill.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
Rather than acting like a conventional fast-acting poison, it disrupts the insect's ability to manufacture enough chitin for the next exoskeleton.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026
“Yes, well, they also deliberately poison their own gardens, so we’re not talking about the brightest mammals in the macrocosm, are we?”
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
It follows concerns that the poisons are killing songbirds, which like to line their nests with dog and cat hair, as well as contaminating rivers and coastal waters and killing aquatic life.
From BBC ● May 3, 2026
If one does not appreciate the nature and importance of the squabble, Freidenberg maintained, one cannot really grasp how totalitarianism poisons every moment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
But then he enacts the scene in which Iago subtly poisons Othello’s mind into believing that his wife is having an affair with a handsome lieutenant.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2026
You see it everywhere; it not only crowds out natives, it also poisons the soil to kill off the competition and ruins biodiversity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2025
We spent nineteen days in the infirmary, swallowing a variety of specialized poisons, since we had intestinal parasites, fungus growing on our feet and forearms, and more than the usual degree of malaria.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
The next year, six more trees were poisoned and survived.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
He also spoke of the failures of his and his wider team, specifically referencing a doctor who disregarded blood test results that suggested a baby had been poisoned with insulin in August 2015.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
Today it is a symbol of a people who still seem poisoned and embittered by an attack that happened a quarter of a century ago.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
The Webb score is subtle and insinuating, but it could also be explosive, as in the devastating discovery cue dramatizing the heroine’s realization that she is being poisoned.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
I climb under the blankets, sure this is what it must feel like to be poisoned.
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
In her first interview since Beijing, Wietrzyk said she had suffered a bacterial infection from food poisoning but had gone into the race "feeling fresh, feeling really, really good".
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
He said a woman and three children were hospitalised "with symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning" in the region after drone debris fell on a house, causing a fire.
From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2026
Last week, Yuan published a research paper on the long-term effects of cadmium poisoning suffered by herself, her mother and her father.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
When you suffer from food poisoning or another stomach bug, the tip of the villi can break off, says Pimentel, making you temporarily less adept at digesting dairy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
I had heard of runaway slaves starving before they reached freedom, or poisoning themselves because they were as ignorant as I was about which wild plants were edible.
From "Kindred" by Octavia Butler
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