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
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 poisoning
Kouri Richins, a Utah woman convicted of fatally poisoning her husband with fentanyl, is set to be sentenced for murder on Wednesday.
—
Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 13 May 2026
One of the charges against Richins is connected to that incident after prosecutors accused her of poisoning his sandwich in an attempt to kill him.
—Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 13 May 2026
Symptoms of salmonella poisoning Symptoms of salmonella poisoning usually start six hours to six days after swallowing the bacteria.
—Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 12 May 2026
The young woman who sojourned to Oberlin College, where she was wrongfully accused of poisoning her classmates and beaten half to death, who raised her hands in defense of herself, then went on to grip clay and rock and chisel to re-create visions of justice.
—Tyehimba Jess, ARTnews.com, 17 Apr. 2026
Protesters, however, say that HERC, which neighbors Target Field near the North Loop neighborhood, is responsible for essentially poisoning people who live nearby.
—Conor Wight, CBS News, 10 Apr. 2026
In the Middle Ages, local churchgoers whispered of clannish Jews poisoning wells to kill Christian children and steal their blood for their rituals.
—Mike Rothschild, Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026
Chronic mold poisoning our children.
—Sumathy Kumar, New York Daily News, 11 Mar. 2026
Through the years, there have been more oil spills, but also toxic algae blooms poisoning sea creatures with domoic acid and disease outbreaks, unusual stranding events that would fill the center to maximum capacity.
—Laylan Connelly, Oc Register, 9 Mar. 2026
Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 13 May 2026
One of the charges against Richins is connected to that incident after prosecutors accused her of poisoning his sandwich in an attempt to kill him.
—Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 13 May 2026
Symptoms of salmonella poisoning Symptoms of salmonella poisoning usually start six hours to six days after swallowing the bacteria.
—Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 12 May 2026
The young woman who sojourned to Oberlin College, where she was wrongfully accused of poisoning her classmates and beaten half to death, who raised her hands in defense of herself, then went on to grip clay and rock and chisel to re-create visions of justice.
—Tyehimba Jess, ARTnews.com, 17 Apr. 2026
Protesters, however, say that HERC, which neighbors Target Field near the North Loop neighborhood, is responsible for essentially poisoning people who live nearby.
—Conor Wight, CBS News, 10 Apr. 2026
In the Middle Ages, local churchgoers whispered of clannish Jews poisoning wells to kill Christian children and steal their blood for their rituals.
—Mike Rothschild, Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026
Chronic mold poisoning our children.
—Sumathy Kumar, New York Daily News, 11 Mar. 2026
Through the years, there have been more oil spills, but also toxic algae blooms poisoning sea creatures with domoic acid and disease outbreaks, unusual stranding events that would fill the center to maximum capacity.
—Laylan Connelly, Oc Register, 9 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poisoning
Verb
-
At a time of intensifying divisions at home, a depiction of Ecuador could offer an Edenic, new-world landscape free from the partisanship tainting Church’s New England landscapes.—
Sebastian Smee,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
-
Now, streaming is tainting the postseason.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Engineers and safety experts are solving problems in a new technology that gets us off expensive and polluting fossil fuels.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
9 May 2026
-
Sunil Bector, an attorney with the Sierra Club, said that heavily polluting facilities will reap overlapping benefits from the assault on the Clean Air Act.—
Mark Olalde,
ProPublica,
8 May 2026
Verb
-
In contrast, the researchers engineered separate strains of Bacillus subtilis to produce two cooperative polymer-degrading enzymes that work in tandem.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
11 May 2026
-
Experts claim the layer can begin degrading at temperatures above 158°F, potentially accelerating battery wear over time and increasing long-term safety concerns if such heat exposure becomes frequent.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
10 May 2026
Verb
-
The roughly 4,800-square-foot home is wrapped in expansive windows overlooking the lake and mountains beyond, turning the landscape into a constantly changing backdrop.—
Abby Montanez,
Robb Report,
13 May 2026
-
Another way to decorate your privacy fence is by turning it into a full-on plant wall.—
Tessa Cooper,
The Spruce,
13 May 2026
Verb
-
Despite a sluggish start, the Atlanta Dream gutted out a 77-72 victory over the Dallas Wings on Tuesday night, spoiling the Wings' home opener and improving their record to 2-0 in the process.—
Christopher Harris,
CBS News,
13 May 2026
-
Anyone can shop the deals, but there are a few ways to save when spoiling your pets.—
Liz Knueven,
CNBC,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
For every grousing old-timer who felt that Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman was contaminating the genre came another who expressed sheer joy that such a show even existed.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 May 2026
-
Over the years, villagers in Roko-Roko held demonstrations, accusing the mining company of clearing community farmland and contaminating a local spring.—
NPR,
NPR,
7 May 2026
Verb
-
An early discussion about social contracts comes down to us in Plato’s dialogue Crito in which Socrates, condemned to death for allegedly corrupting the youth, refused an offer to escape from prison.—
George G. Szpiro,
Big Think,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Meanwhile, the Pima County Sheriff Office investigating Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance is facing troubles of its own, as a former sheriff has accused current leadership of ‘corrupting’ the crime scene, and a deputy has been arrested and fired on a kidnapping charge.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The key for Cornyn will be convincing voters who typically don’t make it to the polls for runoffs to cast their ballot for him, Jones said.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 May 2026
-
He is accused, among other things, of defrauding many of Banco Master's 800,000 clients, including several state government pension funds, out of hundreds of millions of dollars by convincing them to make shady investments.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
13 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Poisoning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poisoning. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
