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
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Recent Examples of poison
Scott White, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Behavior and reproduction Most frogs are nocturnal, but not poison frogs.
—National Geographic, 28 Feb. 2020
Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Aug. 2025
Since Ibsen wrote the suffocated aristocrat with her poison tongue into existence 135 years ago, titans of theatre have grappled with Gabler.
—Ben Jureidini, Them., 22 Aug. 2025
Andy Shaw, Chicago Tribune, 22 Aug. 2025
In the mid-1890s, her former landlords Israel and Lovey Dunham died after sudden illnesses; Toppan later acknowledged poisoning them, according to Boston Magazine.
—Christina Coulter, People.com, 16 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for 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
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
Since Ibsen wrote the suffocated aristocrat with her poison tongue into existence 135 years ago, titans of theatre have grappled with Gabler.
—Ben Jureidini, Them., 22 Aug. 2025
Verb
Alexander Litvinenko, a former Kremlin officer who exposed corruption and accused Putin of staging terror attacks, was fatally poisoned with polonium-210 in 2006.
—Andy Shaw, Chicago Tribune, 22 Aug. 2025
In the mid-1890s, her former landlords Israel and Lovey Dunham died after sudden illnesses; Toppan later acknowledged poisoning them, according to Boston Magazine.
—Christina Coulter, People.com, 16 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for poison
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poison
Noun
-
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
-
The politics at Oakland Unified have moved from contentious to outright toxic in the past two years, with the board split on key votes around financial decisions.—
Shomik Mukherjee,
Mercury News,
31 May 2025
Verb
-
Runoff from cultivation sites may taint the water due to the presence of pesticides.—
Colson Thayer,
People.com,
25 Aug. 2025
-
The decision came in response to challenges from criminal defense attorneys, who argued their clients’ prosecutions were tainted because Habba was kept in place despite not previously serving as the first assistant to the office.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Other public speakers, like Tabitha Fader, said the reroute would cause irreparable harm if wetlands and rivers were polluted during pipeline construction or in the event of a spill.—
Laura Schulte,
jsonline.com,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Industry, transportation, and creating electricity are polluting.—
Suwanna Gauntlett Upjohn,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Long-term drought has degraded the old-growth forest where the squirrels live.—
John Leos,
AZCentral.com,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Design for Choice, Not Chaos Present customers with multiple options, from digital wallets to local payment rails, without degrading user experience.—
Christer Holloman,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Their next goal is to turn the system into a practical tool for early fire detection.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Sep. 2025
-
While wildfire season in Arizona used to arrive in spring and reliably end by the monsoon, fire seasons have turned into fire years as the blazes become more erratic and frequent.—
John Leos,
AZCentral.com,
3 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
-
This isn’t the first study to suggest the importance of breakfast for living a long life—research has shown that regularly eating a morning meal is linked with lower overall and heart-related mortality (and that bypassing it can up your heart-disease risk).—
Erica Sloan,
SELF,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Yet America’s system is transactional, rewarding affluence while neglecting the very conditions that produce disease.—
Stan Chu Ilo,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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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
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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
Cite this Entry
“Poison.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poison. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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