poison 1 of 3

adjective

Definition of poisonnext
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

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poison

2 of 3

noun

ˈpȯi-zᵊn How to pronounce poison (audio)
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

poison

3 of 3

verb

1
as in to taint
to affect slightly with something morally bad or undesirable poisoning the minds of impressionable children with ethnic hatred

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2
as in to pollute
to make unfit for use by the addition of something harmful or undesirable exhaust fumes poisoning the air

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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

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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

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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
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
Stone, who was not involved with the work, suggests that the brothers died because of malarial infection but that toxicological analyses would have to be done to know whether poison also played a role. — Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 15 July 2026 Tens of thousands of pets ended up at poison control last year over one hazard sitting quietly in gardens, kitchens and living rooms. — Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 14 July 2026
Verb
GPT-4o taught me how to poison a dinner party with common plants found in a temperate forest environment. — IEEE Spectrum, 14 July 2026 Michael seemed to be saying that by admitting her dishonesty, Ethel would have ruined their childhood and poisoned any prospect of a future relationship with her. — Amy Weiss-Meyer, The Atlantic, 10 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for poison
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poison
  1. poisonous
  2. toxic
  3. taint
  4. pollute
  5. degrade
  6. turn
  7. disease
  8. spoil
Adjective
  • The lionfish's poisonous spikes can badly hurt anyone who’s stung.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 30 July 2026
  • Ensure that chewable cords and poisonous plants are far out of reach.
    — Madeline Gunderson, USA Today, 29 July 2026
Definition of poisonous
Noun
  • In late May, about 50,000 people in Orange County were evacuated because, at a Garden Grove site operated by GKN Aerospace, tanks holding a volatile hazardous chemical called methyl methacrylate were at risk of exploding or leaking toxics.
    — Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026
  • Munoz is an independent toxicologist working in collaboration with MAHA against pesticides and toxics.
    — Sandee LaMotte, CNN Money, 10 July 2026
Definition of toxic
Verb
  • The political violence that tainted the Reconstruction and post-Reconstruction era clashes with traditional definitions of terrorism, which typically targets a power structure that such violence seeks to upend.
    — Jacob Ware, The Conversation, 31 July 2026
  • More than two dozen California Democrats are confronting the FCC over its rare early review of Disney’s ABC station licenses, calling the process ideologically tainted and aimed at punishing critical media coverage.
    — Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 22 July 2026
Definition of taint
Verb
  • California and 19 other attorneys generals are suing the Environmental Protection Agency for reversing action on high-polluting refrigerants.
    — Blanca Begert, Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2026
  • Another study, published in Nature, found that Canadian wildfires in 2023, when more than 43 million acres burned, generated more emissions than the burning of fossil fuels in all but the three most-polluting countries.
    — Joshua Partlow, The Atlantic, 16 July 2026
Definition of pollute
Verb
  • But who has the time to wait for AI images to degrade naturally as they get passed around the Internet?
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 29 July 2026
  • The signal degrades at every step along this journey, and the guessers have to do their best with some pretty warped data.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 28 July 2026
Definition of degrade
Verb
  • Quixotic aerialists twisted, turned and unfolded above the crowd, using flowing fabric and butterfly-inspired movements to mirror the creatures being celebrated.
    — Sophia Buonpane, Kansas City Star, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Each has turned that necessity into an experience, a product category and a marketing language the C-suite can deploy far beyond sport.
    — Lilian Raji, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of turn
Noun
  • DeepMind’s AlphaFold, for example, has used to AI to make available new structures for more than 200 million proteins, opening new pathways for research into disease and medicine.
    — Belonging Forum, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
  • The lab got its start with studies of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in the 1900s, when ranchers and cattle were dying from the then-unknown disease.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 22 July 2026
Definition of disease
Verb
  • As Tom Holland’s summer blockbusters take over the big screen, X has spoiled yet another one of the actor’s theatrical releases.
    — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 31 July 2026
  • Ballot spoiling was the subject of a 2022 lawsuit brought by a Republican group.
    — Scott Bauer, Twin Cities, 29 July 2026
Definition of spoil

Browse Nearby Words

poising
poison
poisoned
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Cite this Entry

“Poison.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poison. Accessed 2 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on poison

Nglish: Translation of poison for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about poison

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