poison
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!
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.
Chemistry. to destroy or diminish the activity of (a catalyst or enzyme).
causing poisoning; poisonous: a poison shrub.
Origin of poison
1synonym study For poison
Other words for poison
Other words from poison
- poi·son·er, noun
- poi·son·less, adjective
- poi·son·less·ness, noun
- outpoison, verb (used with object)
- self-poi·son·er, noun
- un·poi·soned, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use poison in a sentence
However, the apple had been made with such cunning that only the red part was poisoned.
In New Brothers Grimm 'Snow White', The Prince Doesn't Save Her | The Brothers Grimm | November 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTEverything serene, snow piling on trees, over lawns, on houses, before we realize that all the snow is poisoned with radiation.
It takes around 48 hours for a patient poisoned with potassium to die, which gave Poggiali plenty of distance from the deaths.
Nurse Nasty Suspected of Killing 38 People in Italy | Barbie Latza Nadeau | October 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThey were too young to be poisoned by gender norms at that point; and besides, the pink clothes were free.
But still: with a subject as toxic as sex abuse, every lie can result in a life poisoned.
Exclusive: ‘X-Men’ Sex Abuse Lawyer Says He Was Assaulted, Too | Tim Teeman | May 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The warriors carried sharp spears, bows, and poisoned arrows, and each man was protected by a wooden shield.
Alila, Our Little Philippine Cousin | Mary Hazelton WadeYou don't think I am going to suffer Maude's children to be domineered over by a wretch of a step-mother—perhaps poisoned.
Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry WoodIt acts also upon the secretions—the saliva, milk and bile— which often become actually poisoned.
Gospel Philosophy | J. H. WardBut I'll be hanged if I can see myself baring my breast for poisoned arrows, with a seraphic smile on my lips, over here!
Ancestors | Gertrude AthertonTheir weapons consist of a bamboo lance, a bow of palm wood, and a quiver of poisoned arrows.
Man And His Ancestor | Charles Morris
British Dictionary definitions for poison
/ (ˈpɔɪzən) /
any substance that can impair function, cause structural damage, or otherwise injure the body: Related adjective: 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?
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
Origin of poison
1Derived forms of poison
- poisoner, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with poison
In addition to the idiom beginning with poison
, also see
- one man's meat is another man's poison
.
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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