poison 1 of 3

poison

2 of 3

noun

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

poison

3 of 3

verb

1
2
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4
as in to turn
to cause to have often negative opinions formed without sufficient knowledge malicious rumors had poisoned many church members against the new pastor

Synonyms & Similar Words

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
Adjective
Constant procedural upheaval and backlogs are poison. Scott White, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025 Behavior and reproduction Most frogs are nocturnal, but not poison frogs. National Geographic, 28 Feb. 2020
Noun
This poison apple sour will cast you under its spell from the very first sip. Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Aug. 2025 New York lawmakers are proposing rules to humanely drive down the population of rats and other rodents, eyeing contraception and a ban on glue traps as alternatives to poison or a slow, brutal death. Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Aug. 2025
Verb
After Keanu has a conversation with Ava, Ashley accuses him of trying to poison Ava’s mind. Nick Caruso, TVLine, 4 Sep. 2025 Abusers and traffickers are exploiting this lack of oversight—leaving women coerced, deceived, and sometimes poisoned. Christa Brown, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for poison
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poison
Noun
  • In 2023, 20 steel mills and coke plants nationwide emitted nearly 2.4 million pounds of air toxics, 289,722 tons of criteria air pollutants and 43.3 million metric tons of greenhouse gases, according to the study.
    Maya Wilkins, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2025
  • Just last week, for example, the Trump administration, through its Environmental Protection Agency, proposed to withdraw two rules imposing air toxics and greenhouse gas limits on fossil-fuel power plants.
    Wayne Messam, Sun Sentinel, 15 June 2025
Verb
  • Buggs’ public defender also suggested that Alameda County prosecutors’ case was tainted by that bias.
    Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 6 Sep. 2025
  • That Anniston’s offer is tainted is a given; that Charles is making a deal with a very bad man is obvious.
    Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • What To Know The annual $1 billion allocation comes from California's cap-and-invest program, which collects fees from polluting industries.
    Theo Burman, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Farmers overapplying them in their fields can cause nitrogen-laden runoff that pollutes water and the air.
    Bloomberg, Mercury News, 10 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Today’s batteries depend on scarce resources like lithium and cobalt and degrade over time.
    Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 10 Sep. 2025
  • These perform well at low to medium heat, but begin to degrade around 500 °F, potentially releasing harmful fumes that can pose health risks.
    Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 8 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Nolthenius hopes that more astronomers – professionals and amateurs – will turn their eyes to the skies to observe Quaoar's occultations.
    Nola Taylor Tillman, Space.com, 10 Sep. 2025
  • In less than six hours, the protest turned violent when police used water cannons, tear gas, rubber bullets and then gunfire, killing at least 19 people including children and injuring hundreds of others.
    Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Wolf spider bites are not poisonous and won't cause sores or body-wide symptoms from its venom.
    Carrie Madormo, Health, 6 Sep. 2025
  • This unconstitutional partisan politicization is poisonous to unit morale and discipline with long-term consequences for who serves and why.
    Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 5 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Those drugs, which target rare diseases, and some newer cancer treatments are part of the reason Sun Life Financial covered 47 claims last year that cost over $3 million.
    Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Certain health conditions, including liver disease, cancer, diabetes or HIV, or immunosuppressants, raise the risk for severe illness.
    Mollye Barrows, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Holding on for a win on Saturday finally allowed the Padres to gain a game in the NL West on the on Dodgers, who lost a fifth straight when the Orioles spoiled a no-hitter with two outs and ultimately walked off a win.
    Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Sep. 2025
  • Besides, if one bad apple can spoil the whole barrel, then just imagine the good that Maria could do by removing it from the rest of the bunch.
    David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 7 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Poison.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poison. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.

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