1
as in tainting
to affect slightly with something morally bad or undesirable
poisoning the minds of impressionable children with ethnic hatred
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in polluting
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 degrading
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
4
as in turning
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
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Recent Examples of poisoning
Beyond the broader ecological catastrophes that await us, wildfires harm people with smoke that can travel hundreds of kilometers from the source fire, poisoning people with small particles and a portfolio of toxins.
—
Suwanna Gauntlett Upjohn, Forbes.com, 29 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
Convinced that his neighbor was poisoning him, the man was reluctant to even accept water from the hospital, despite reporting extreme thirst.
—Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 13 Aug. 2025
His father, John, died in 1992 of a morphine overdose—an event that led to criminal charges against Colvin’s mother, Veronica, who was accused of poisoning him.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 11 Aug. 2025
The fraudsters are poisoning the well for profit and if they're not stopped soon, then the days of being able to trust the body of scientific literature, and of having the ability to distinguish between scientific fact and scientific fake, may be coming to an end.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 11 Aug. 2025
Then came the radioactive black rain, which fell over the city, silently poisoning countless more.
—Mai Nishiyama, NBC news, 6 Aug. 2025
Wild rumors swirled about Baha’is poisoning the water, Israeli troops entering the country in disguise, and the Shah personally gunning down protesters from his helicopter.
—Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
Their reasoning is that these products are poisoning Americans.
—Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2025
Suwanna Gauntlett Upjohn, Forbes.com, 29 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
Convinced that his neighbor was poisoning him, the man was reluctant to even accept water from the hospital, despite reporting extreme thirst.
—Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 13 Aug. 2025
His father, John, died in 1992 of a morphine overdose—an event that led to criminal charges against Colvin’s mother, Veronica, who was accused of poisoning him.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 11 Aug. 2025
The fraudsters are poisoning the well for profit and if they're not stopped soon, then the days of being able to trust the body of scientific literature, and of having the ability to distinguish between scientific fact and scientific fake, may be coming to an end.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 11 Aug. 2025
Then came the radioactive black rain, which fell over the city, silently poisoning countless more.
—Mai Nishiyama, NBC news, 6 Aug. 2025
Wild rumors swirled about Baha’is poisoning the water, Israeli troops entering the country in disguise, and the Shah personally gunning down protesters from his helicopter.
—Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
Their reasoning is that these products are poisoning Americans.
—Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poisoning
Verb
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And around all this, the whiff of Epstein is tainting the president's achievements.—
Kate Plummer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The technology ideally should be used for sectors that are difficult to decarbonize, such as cement production, aviation and agriculture, rather than to extend the life of polluting power plants or to prolong the use of oil and gas, Koberle said.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
5 Sep. 2025
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Stop polluting and give them stable, growing economies in which to be raised.—
Suwanna Gauntlett Upjohn,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
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
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Are officials degrading citizens’ Internet access to sell them VPNs?—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Part sports-underdog biopic, part domestic-abuse-survivor’s tale, and a textbook example of why turning a true story into tony entertainment is a real tightrope walk, this drama has extremely recognizable beats.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
6 Sep. 2025
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The other two possessions ended in a Jenkins interception and FIU turning the ball over on downs.—
Walter Villa,
Miami Herald,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Without spoiling too much, all of this – and Edwards’ actions during the raid in particular – lead to serious repercussions.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
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Expiring food that couldn’t fit inside the overstuffed refrigerator and freezer sat spoiling on the counter, growing mold and attracting flies.—
Kristen Kidd,
Denver Post,
30 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Just as Cassini was sent into Saturn at the end of its mission to avoid contaminating Saturn’s moons with any stowaway organics brought from Earth, so too will Juno be brought to an end by forcing it to plunge into a gas giant world.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
3 Sep. 2025
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The compression system inside is genius, and the sectioned divider keeps my dirty clothes from contaminating the rest of my items (major win).—
Samantha Leal,
Travel + Leisure,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
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This comes as reports continue to roll in that another August update fail has been corrupting PC SSDs when writing large files.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
21 Aug. 2025
-
May End Up Carrying Weapons—Report Stop the billionaire takeover corrupting our government.—
Kate Plummer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 Aug. 2025
Verb
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While speaking on a panel at the opening of the movie, which details the life and career of actor John Candy, who died at 43 in 1994, Reynolds revealed that his 2-year-old son, Olin, played a key part in convincing Bill Murray, 74, to have a role in the documentary.—
Becca Longmire,
PEOPLE,
5 Sep. 2025
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And the amount of self-persuasion that goes into convincing yourself to do something like that might be a problem.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Poisoning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poisoning. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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