poison

[poi-zuhn]

noun

1. a substance with an inherent property that tends to destroy life or impair health.

2. something harmful or pernicious, as to happiness or well-being.

   the poison of slander.

3. Slang.,  any variety of alcoholic liquor.

   Name your poison!

verb (used with object)

1. to administer poison to (a person or animal).

2. to kill or injure with or as if with poison.

3. to put poison into or upon; saturate with poison.

   to poison food.

4. to ruin, vitiate, or corrupt.

   Hatred had poisoned his mind.

   Synonyms: taint, pollute, contaminate

5. Chemistry.,  to destroy or diminish the activity of (a catalyst or enzyme).

adjective

1. causing poisoning; poisonous.

   a poison shrub.

poison

/ ˈpɔɪzən /

noun

1. any substance that can impair function, cause structural damage, or otherwise injure the body

2. something that destroys, corrupts, etc

   the poison of fascism

3. a substance that retards a chemical reaction or destroys or inhibits the activity of a catalyst

4. a substance that absorbs neutrons in a nuclear reactor and thus slows down the reaction. It may be added deliberately or formed during fission

5. informal,  what would you like to drink?

verb

1. to give poison to (a person or animal) esp with intent to kill

2. to add poison to

3. to taint or infect with or as if with poison

4. (foll by against) to turn (a person's mind) against

   he poisoned her mind against me

5. to retard or stop (a chemical or nuclear reaction) by the action of a poison

6. to inhibit or destroy (the activity of a catalyst) by the action of a poison

Other Word Forms

• poisoner noun
• poisonless adjective
• poisonlessness noun
• outpoison verb (used with object)
• self-poisoner noun
• unpoisoned adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of poison¹

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English puisun, from Old French, from Latin pōtiōn- (stem of pōtiō ) “drink, potion, poisonous draught.” See potion.

Word History and Origins

Origin of poison¹

C13: from Old French puison potion, from Latin pōtiō a drink, esp a poisonous one, from pōtāre to drink

Idioms and Phrases

• one man's meat is another man's poison

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

The sludge swept through communities, destroying hundreds of people's homes and poisoning the river.

Read more on BBC

They are dead because someone—neighboring villagers believe it was Constance—poisoned them.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The water is poisoned, economic inequality is out of control and immigrants have become an easy target.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

With milder poisoning, this period of normalcy can last up to two weeks; in severe cases, it ends in as little as five days.

Read more on Literature

One boy suggested it would be smarter to sabotage their efforts—poison their food or something like that.

Read more on Literature

Related Words

• corrupt 
• debase 
• destroy 
• harm 
• infect 
• injure 
• kill 
• stain 
• subvert 
• taint 
• undermine 

When To Use

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.