venom

noun

ˈve-nəm How to pronounce venom (audio)
Definition of venomnext
1
as in poison
a substance that by chemical action can kill or injure a living thing an antidote to snake venom

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in malice
the desire to cause pain for the satisfaction of doing harm a neighborhood gossip of such venom that she was feared by all and genuinely liked by no one

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 venom In 1992, John Eng, who had been studying the venom of Gila monsters for years, discovered a new peptide called exendin-4 that acted like GLP-1 in the body. — Bo Evans, CBS News, 16 Sep. 2026 Sometimes there’s a real venom to the way people put you under microscopes. — Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 10 Sep. 2026 The report also details cases on research into orthopoxviruses – a group that includes variola, which causes smallpox, and mpox – as well as venom toxins. — Deidre McPhillips, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2026 If someone is bitten, please don’t try to cut the wound or suck out the venom. — Elaine Reno, The Conversation, 8 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for venom
Recent Examples of Synonyms for venom
  1. poison
  2. malice
  3. toxic
  4. hatred
  5. disease
  6. toxin
Noun
  • Investigators stressed that the poison was not the potassium cyanide used in the Tylenol murders.
    — Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Most self-help books say anger and grudges are self-defeating — there’s that line everybody uses that holding a grudge is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.
    — Lane Brown, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of poison
Noun
  • Kingston Bradley of Smyrna, Georgia, was arrested and charged with concealing the death of another and malice murder in connection with Mosley’s death.
    — Matt Lavietes, NBC news, 26 Sep. 2026
  • Stacey Humphreys, 53, was convicted of malice murder and other crimes in the 2003 killings of 33-year-old Cyndi Williams and 21-year-old Lori Brown in an Atlanta suburb.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of malice
Noun
  • In late May, about 50,000 people in Orange County were evacuated because, at a Garden Grove site operated by GKN Aerospace, tanks holding a volatile hazardous chemical called methyl methacrylate were at risk of exploding or leaking toxics.
    — Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026
  • Munoz is an independent toxicologist working in collaboration with MAHA against pesticides and toxics.
    — Sandee LaMotte, CNN Money, 10 July 2026
Definition of toxic
Noun
  • The Hearst newspaper chain’s first profile of Hitler made no explicit mention of antisemitism, emphasizing instead his hatred of the Bolsheviks.
    — Beverly Gage, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Bartos argues the gathering codified radical anti-Western hatred, antisemitism, and anti-American sentiment, birth-place to the BDS movement.
    — Staff, FOXNews.com, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of hatred
Noun
  • Instead, the defense sought to persuade the jury that the 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse was not criminally responsible because of mental disease, a rare condition called postpartum psychosis.
    — MICHAEL CASEY, Arkansas Online, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The growing range of treatment options marks a shift from seeking a cure to focusing on avoiding the disease entirely.
    — Theara Coleman, TheWeek, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of disease
Noun
  • Breaking the dependency loop For people trying to quit vaping, health providers warn that switching to cigarettes reintroduces harmful toxins, tar and carbon monoxide.
    — Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Richardson explained that toxins are cleared mainly through the liver and kidneys, and that what’s coming out in sweat is mostly salt water.
    — Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of toxin

Browse Nearby Words

venial
venom
venomous
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Venom.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/venom. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on venom

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about venom

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