as in poisoned
containing or contaminated with a substance capable of injuring or killing a living thing
the witch gave Snow White a poison apple
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in toxic
a substance that by chemical action can kill or injure a living thing
the only way to get rid of rats is to leave out poison
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to taint
to affect slightly with something morally bad or undesirable
poisoning the minds of impressionable children with ethnic hatred
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to pollute
to make unfit for use by the addition of something harmful or undesirable
exhaust fumes poisoning the air
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to degrade
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
this party partisanship poisons the national debate we should be having about this urgent problem
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of poison
Megan McCluskey, Time, 31 Oct. 2025
Constant procedural upheaval and backlogs are poison.
—Scott White, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Youri Benadjaoud, ABC News, 11 June 2026
Anyone concered about a wild rat infestation should contact a professional exterminator or vector-control agency, since commercial poisons can still allow for the spread of the disease.
—Jason Green, Mercury News, 11 June 2026
Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026
The ants are attracted to the water and sugar, and take the borax back to the nest to poison the colony.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 9 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for poison
Adjective
Michelle spins a long and complicated tale, but insists Teddy was wrong about the Andromedans trying to infiltrate and poison humanity.
—Megan McCluskey, Time, 31 Oct. 2025
Constant procedural upheaval and backlogs are poison.
—Scott White, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Noun
America's Poison Centers reported 10,068 poison center calls involving diphenhydramine among teens in 2024.
—Youri Benadjaoud, ABC News, 11 June 2026
Anyone concered about a wild rat infestation should contact a professional exterminator or vector-control agency, since commercial poisons can still allow for the spread of the disease.
—Jason Green, Mercury News, 11 June 2026
Verb
In addition to Cindy trying out the too-good-to-be-true injection, Gail Hailstorm (Cheri Oteri) also takes a dose which turns out to be fatal because it was poisoned by Ghostface.
—Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026
The ants are attracted to the water and sugar, and take the borax back to the nest to poison the colony.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 9 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for poison
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poison
Adjective
-
The plant, which is non-native and is for ornamental purposes, is poisonous to horses.—
Alexa Herrera,
CBS News,
16 June 2026
-
Not only are the leaves poisonous to humans and pets, but the vine itself is invasive and can spread disease to trees.—
Samantha Johnson,
Martha Stewart,
7 June 2026
Noun
-
At the same time, the Trump administration has taken steps to roll back regulations on emissions from industrial facilities, such as mercury and other toxics emitted from coal plants.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
27 May 2026
-
Portside residents face higher cancer risk from air toxics than 93% of the nation.—
Jose Franco Garcia,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
Thursday’s study is not the first indication that social media may be tainting people’s views on sunscreen and sun safety.—
Lily Alvino,
NBC news,
18 June 2026
-
Troupis and Roman both filed motions seeking to relocate the trial from Dane County, which includes Madison, to neighboring Jefferson County, saying negative publicity had tainted the potential jury pool.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
17 June 2026
Verb
-
Perversely, this exemption may encourage companies to switch to highly-polluting diesel engines to avoid idling fines.—
Chris Hartmann,
New York Daily News,
16 June 2026
-
Will the increasing population restrain from polluting the soil, the water and the atmosphere?—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
16 June 2026
Verb
-
Operating without high temperatures also allowed the researchers to use a wider range of sensing materials, including polymers that might degrade under heat.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
17 June 2026
-
Thermomechanical recycling, another energy-intensive endeavor, relies on high-quality, homogeneous feedstock that can only be processed a limited number of times before the plastic degrades.—
Jasmin Malik Chua,
Footwear News,
17 June 2026
Verb
-
By building circuits whose states naturally fluctuate with this environmental heat, thermodynamic computing turns an otherwise stochastic and chaotic feature of nature into an incredibly fast, ultra-low-energy calculator.—
Rob Toews,
Forbes.com,
22 June 2026
-
Lestat is basically in Hell; having turned Nicky, he is now forever severed from him mentally, while Nicky’s mental state continues to deteriorate.—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
22 June 2026
Noun
-
An investigation revealed that the horse was suffering from multiple diseases and was a decade older than his driver had initially reported, according to the organization.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
18 June 2026
-
Those who have been vaccinated or previously had measles are likely protected against the disease.—
Matthew Rodriguez,
CBS News,
18 June 2026
Verb
-
Color Changes Foods can darken or brown slightly from exposure to oxygen rather than spoiling.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
18 June 2026
-
Food and drink With 10 bars and restaurants, including the lobby cafe and one in the attached Beymen Mall, guests are spoiled for choice.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
17 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Poison.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poison. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
