as in poisoned
containing or contaminated with a substance capable of injuring or killing a living thing
some evil person was leaving out poisonous meat for neighborhood dogs to eat
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Recent Examples of poisonous
In 2007, Ardeshir Hosseinpour, a physicist in his mid-forties, was killed in Isfahan, either by radiation or by poisonous gas.
—
David D. Kirkpatrick, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026
Yes, hemlock plants are poisonous.
—Markis Hill, Kansas City Star, 28 Mar. 2026
Trump’s populist allies have learned that their most poisonous ideas have a potent audience.
—Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
Morels are edible mushrooms with a honeycomb appearance and are hollow inside, unlike poisonous false morels.
—Marina Johnson, Louisville Courier Journal, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for poisonous
David D. Kirkpatrick, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026
Yes, hemlock plants are poisonous.
—Markis Hill, Kansas City Star, 28 Mar. 2026
Trump’s populist allies have learned that their most poisonous ideas have a potent audience.
—Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
Morels are edible mushrooms with a honeycomb appearance and are hollow inside, unlike poisonous false morels.
—Marina Johnson, Louisville Courier Journal, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for poisonous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poisonous
Adjective
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Power to the people is poison to the powerful.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
10 Feb. 2026
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Dropped in recent years because carbs are poison.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The former Exide Technologies plant in Vernon melted down pallets of lead-acid car batteries in blast furnaces for nearly a century, blanketing up to 10,000 nearby properties with toxic dust, according to state officials.—
Tony Briscoe,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Apr. 2026
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Oil prices are once again surging in the wake of war in the Middle East, driving up the cost of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel and threatening a return to stagflation – the toxic mix of higher prices and slower growth that made economic life so miserable a half century ago.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Pettit was charged with six counts of cruelty to animals, six counts of confinement of abandonment of animals, three counts of keeping venomous reptiles without a permit and one count of unsafe maintenance of captive wild animals, according to the release.—
Amaia Gavica,
Miami Herald,
9 Apr. 2026
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The insects, known as Asian needle ants, are venomous and deliver a painful sting that can cause severe allergic reactions, and their spread across the country worries experts.—
Julia Gomez,
USA Today,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Poisonous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poisonous. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.
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