poison
noun
\
Definition of poison
(Entry 1 of 3)
poison
verb
, ˈpȯi-zᵊn-iŋ \
Definition of poison (Entry 2 of 3)
poison
adjectiveDefinition of poison (Entry 3 of 3)
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Other Words from poison
Verb
, ˈpȯi-zᵊn-ər \
noun
Synonyms & Antonyms for poison
Synonyms: Noun
Synonyms: Verb
blemish, darken, mar, spoil, stain, taint, tarnish, touch, vitiate
Synonyms: Adjective
envenomed, poisoned, poisonous, toxic, venomous
Antonyms: Adjective
nonpoisonous, nontoxic, nonvenomous
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Examples of poison in a Sentence
Noun
a jar of rat poison The killer gave her victims food laced with poison. suck poison from a snake bite The villain in the play dies by drinking a vial of poison. Poverty is a poison to society.Verb
How did the murderer poison the victim? Hundreds were poisoned from drinking the contaminated water. He was poisoned with cyanide. The factory poisoned the air with its fumes. Illegal dumping of waste is poisoning the stream and killing fish. He poisoned their minds with hatred for her. His angry outburst poisoned the atmosphere of the party. She was working in a hostile environment poisoned by sexist jokes.Adjective
the witch gave Snow White a poison apple
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
After Billy realizes that the dachshund is stuffed, the story ends, with his host beaming creepily at him and poison seeping through his limbs. — Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, "Taxidermy Is a Metaphor for Our Time," 21 Aug. 2019 In the farms around Meru, farmers like Kathure have to employ guards armed with poison arrows, machetes, and other weapons, to protect their plants. — Jillian Keenan, Time, "'I Need the Money But I Feel Guilt.' How a Drought-Resistant Crop Turned Women in Kenya into Reluctant Drug Lords," 20 Aug. 2019 Then, just as quickly as the poison option is introduced, it's forgotten in favor of good old-fashioned killing. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Review: Fight scenes are the only bright spot in grim, joyless Wu Assassins," 19 Aug. 2019 Her new book, Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers: Monstrosity, Patriarchy, and the Fear of Female Power, also looks at how the morass of misogyny poisons everything — including our psyches, our popular culture and our everyday lives. — Laura Barcella, Longreads, "‘Horror Is a Soothing Genre … It’s Upfront About How Scary It Is To Be a Woman.’," 14 Aug. 2019 Very effective poisons such as cyanide are readily available. — Thomas Massie, National Review, "‘Red Flag’ Laws Are the Wrong Solution to Mass Shootings," 12 Aug. 2019 Stay away from teething tablets that contain the plant poison belladonna and gels with benzocaine. — Marisa Lascala, Good Housekeeping, "When Do Babies Start Teething? The Facts Every Parent Should Know," 9 Aug. 2019 The order will suspend research into organisms that cause Ebola, smallpox, anthrax and plague, and poison ricin, the New York Times reported. — Fox News, "Military lab, which handles Ebola and other dangerous pathogens, suspended after failing CDC inspection," 7 Aug. 2019 In 2018, several overdoses were connected to the drug, and some of them were found to contain rat poison. — Steve Helling, PEOPLE.com, "Drug-Sniffing Dog Dies After Getting Sick Following Prison Contraband Search," 24 July 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Brian Kozlowski pleaded no contest to charges of poisoning a drink in June, which carries a maximum jail sentence of 15 years. — Janelle Griffith, NBC News, "Michigan man sentenced to 60 weekend days in jail for poisoning wife's coffee," 2 Aug. 2019 The Rende family hopes they haven't been poisoned by unknown toxins seeping into their Troy home after living there for 8 years. — Bill Laitner, Detroit Free Press, "Troy homeowners’ horror: 'Dad, something really stinks in the basement'," 12 July 2019 Britain has accused Russia of poisoning the pair with a military-grade nerve agent, a claim Moscow denies. — Bloomberg.com, "Poisoned Former Spy Sergei Skripal Discharged From U.K. Hospital," 18 May 2018 Blankenship — whose time in prison was punishment for the latest in a long line of violations, including accusations of poisoning drinking water and forcing employees to underreport their injuries — had been trying to salvage his brand for years. — Gabriel Debenedetti, Daily Intelligencer, "The GOP Candidate Testing the Limits of Trumpism," 4 May 2018 Over-zealous spraying of herbicides that might have poisoned it? — oregonlive.com, "Is there hope for this distressed magnolia tree? Ask an Expert," 14 July 2019 The same fumes that tinge my childhood reminiscences have been poisoning us and our earth all the while. — Tony Rehagen, BostonGlobe.com, "Farewell to hot dog rollers and roadside chats: an elegy for the American gas station," 11 July 2019 Britain has accused Russia of poisoning them with the nerve agent Novichok, which Moscow has denied. — Washington Post, "Like old pals, Trump, Putin make light of election meddling," 29 June 2019 The officers said Wroth claimed he had been poisoned by chemicals, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office. — Bay City News, The Mercury News, "Rhonert Park to challenge jury’s $4M award to family of man who died in police confrontation," 22 June 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
Field biologist Andrius Pašukonis, who researches poison frog homing behavior in the wild and was not involved in this study, is excited about the results and hopes to see more work done on these and other species. — Geetha Iyer, National Geographic, "This surprisingly smart frog makes maps in its mind," 25 July 2019 Ken said, battling through the foliage before realizing most of it was poison ivy. — Elisabeth Egan, chicagotribune.com, "Algren Award finalist: "Errata" by Carol Keeley," 10 June 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'poison.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.