Synonyms of poisoning

poisoning

verb

present participle of poison

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

• tainting
• spoiling
• marring
• staining
• darkening
• touching
• tarnishing
• blackening
• lowering
• polluting
• discrediting
• degrading
• corrupting
• vitiating
• smearing
• distorting
• blemishing
• soiling
• blurring
• discoloring
• dirtying
• sullying
• clouding
• disgracing
• besmirching
• shaming
• dishonoring
• sinking
• fouling
• smudging
• tarring
• perverting
• debasing
• subverting
• debauching
• cheapening
• depraving
• twisting
• besmearing
• demeaning
• smirching
• smutting
• demoralizing
• abasing
• coloring
• begriming
• bastardizing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• cleansing
• purifying
• elevating
• magnifying
• uplifting
• glorifying
• ennobling
• dignifying
• enshrining
• hallowing

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

• polluting
• contaminating
• tainting
• infecting
• defiling
• befouling
• fouling
• staining
• diluting
• soiling
• dirtying
• rotting
• blackening
• sullying
• besmirching
• corrupting
• smudging
• spoiling
• adulterating
• muddying
• miring
• fouling up
• griming
• watering down
• smirching
• doctoring
• begriming

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• cleaning
• purifying
• cleansing
• purging
• clearing
• clarifying
• distilling
• filtering
• decontaminating
• sterilizing
• disinfecting
• sanitizing

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

• degrading
• corrupting
• weakening
• deteriorating
• damaging
• diluting
• destroying
• subverting
• humiliating
• debauching
• polluting
• depraving
• ruining
• perverting
• debasing
• contaminating
• cankering
• tainting
• lessening
• prostituting
• disgracing
• warping
• cheapening
• demoralizing
• harming
• demeaning
• vitiating
• marring
• bastardizing
• abasing
• profaning
• shaming
• hurting
• thinning
• wrecking
• impairing
• dirtying
• spoiling
• defiling
• watering down
• dishonoring
• tarnishing
• humbling
• staining
• befouling
• descending
• defacing
• downgrading
• begriming
• flawing
• taking down
• depreciating
• blemishing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• improving
• elevating
• uplifting
• honoring
• enhancing
• exalting
• cleaning
• enriching
• ameliorating
• amending
• ennobling
• perfecting
• restoring
• bettering
• purifying
• cleansing
• refining
• dignifying
• respecting
• clarifying
• meliorating

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

• turning
• convincing
• persuading
• biasing
• prejudicing
• influencing
• disposing
• predisposing
• inclining
• suggesting
• prepossessing

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of poisoning

The court heard how the former nurse, now 36, attacked babies in her care by administering air into their blood and stomachs, overfeeding them with milk, physically assaulting them and poisoning them with insulin. — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 15 Sep. 2026

Former Titans scout Blaise Taylor received consecutive life sentences after his conviction for poisoning his pregnant girlfriend. — Chris Branch, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026

See list Symptoms of salmonella poisoning Symptoms of salmonella poisoning usually start six hours to six days after ingesting the bacteria. — Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2026

Preachers and patricians constantly warned that, if allowed to live unchecked in the city, Jews would ‘infect’ the Christian faithful, poisoning the minds of the pious and stealing souls away from salvation. — Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2026

The burning of fossil fuels is poisoning the air our kids breathe and endangering their present and future by overheating our planet. — Catarina Rolfsdotter-Jansson, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026

Trump is also poisoning the process at a moment when the system for casting votes in the United States really does need shoring up. — Amy Davidson Sorkin, New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2026

An unknown person has been poisoning mature pine trees at Burnt Cedar Beach in Incline Village since 2022, with 16 more trees targeted this July and August — a case some suspect involves a wealthy resident trying to improve their view of Lake Tahoe. — Sacbee.com, 15 Aug. 2026

While the mines themselves trample landscapes, the mercury used in the process is poisoning communities. — ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026