poison 1 of 3

adjective

Definition of poisonnext
as in poisoned
containing or contaminated with a substance capable of injuring or killing a living thing the witch gave Snow White a poison apple

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

poison

2 of 3

noun

ˈpȯi-zᵊn How to pronounce poison (audio)
as in toxic
a substance that by chemical action can kill or injure a living thing the only way to get rid of rats is to leave out poison

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

poison

3 of 3

verb

1
as in to taint
to affect slightly with something morally bad or undesirable poisoning the minds of impressionable children with ethnic hatred

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to pollute
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 to degrade
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 to turn
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 poison
Adjective
Michelle spins a long and complicated tale, but insists Teddy was wrong about the Andromedans trying to infiltrate and poison humanity. — Megan McCluskey, Time, 31 Oct. 2025 Constant procedural upheaval and backlogs are poison. — Scott White, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Noun
The clues that Swift’s ghost is leaving for Johnson still aren’t really hitting until Johnson’s character starts feeling the effects of the literal poison being fed to her in her coffee and wine and realizes this man may be bad. — Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 28 Sep. 2026 Trump has turned into poison for Republican candidates in competitive races and any cause that reminds people of him. — Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2026
Verb
The government was the one that was poisoning the industrial alcohol the people were stealing to make bathtub gin. — Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026 Did something happen in her youth that might inform why Cathy, after marrying Adam, goes on to shoot him, leave their newborns, join a brothel, slowly poison the madam, and then take her job? — Jasmine Vojdani, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for poison
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poison
  1. poisonous
  2. toxic
  3. taint
  4. pollute
  5. degrade
  6. turn
  7. disease
  8. spoil
Adjective
  • With the throne disengaged from governance, petitions and reports from officials piled up unread, crucial state posts went unfilled, and the imperial bureaucracy splintered amid poisonous factional infighting.
    — Carl Minzner, Foreign Affairs, 5 Oct. 2026
  • With this potential even more poisonous investments in the bloated and indebted Paramount behemoth, there’s even more reason to reject it.
    — Abigail Disney, New York Daily News, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of poisonous
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
Verb
  • That means if the sewage system backs up, the sink could be tainted.
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Hahn told the Observer in 2020 that the scandal tainted televangelism broadly.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of taint
Verb
  • In a world riven by democratic backsliding and polluted with AI slop, there’s something seductive about the idea of retreating to a wild, unnavigable place where no one can follow you—because you’ll be submerged up to your eyeballs.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Throwing a piece of garbage out of the window affects every Texan, polluting water and soil and affecting wildlife.
    — Katie Standing, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of pollute
Verb
  • With so few ancient samples of dodo DNA surviving—and that which does exist having degraded over the centuries—the analytic and number-crunching power of AI is just what’s needed to fill in the genetic blanks.
    — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The partnership aims to keep the platform connected when military operations disrupt or degrade individual network links.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of degrade
Verb
  • David Standridge’s philosophy is all about harvesting what’s plentiful and turning it into something delicious.
    — Victoria Malloy, Time, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Future success will require Space42 to turn its technological capabilities, capital commitments and international partnerships into commercially viable services that can compete across markets at scale and at a sustainable cost.
    — Melissa Hancock, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of turn
Noun
  • Depending on the species, that could mean breeding animals in captivity and releasing them, restoring habitat, managing disease, or controlling invasive species.
    — Sydney Lake, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Beeswax, honey, and pollen each possess their own particular antimicrobial and chemical properties that, taken together, repel disease and encourage helpful fungi.
    — Amanda Erickson, STAT, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of disease
Verb
  • This story spoils the plot of the film Whalefall, now out in theaters, based on Daniel Kraus‘ novel.
    — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The Dodgers left-hander had just given up the lead on Bauers’ two-run homer, spoiling what had been a stellar start Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of spoil

Browse Nearby Words

poising
poison
poisoned
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Poison.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poison. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on poison

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about poison

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of jilt

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All