poison

noun

A substance that is harmful or lethal to a living organism when ingested.

(figuratively) Anything harmful to a person or thing.

(informal, idiomatic) An alcoholic drink. (Mainly in the phrases "name your poison" and "what's your poison?")

(chemistry) Any substance that inhibits catalytic activity.

verb

(transitive) To use poison to kill or paralyse (somebody).

(transitive) To pollute; to cause to become poisonous.

(transitive) To cause to become much worse.

(transitive) To cause (someone) to hate or to have unfair negative opinions.

(chemistry) To inhibit the catalytic activity of.

(transitive, computing) To place false or malicious data into (a cache, etc.) as part of an exploit.

Roots

potopois- · Latin · drink, potion

Synonyms for poison

empoison envenomv toxicantn venomn venomousnessn venin toxinn toxicadj venomousadj cyaniden strychninen rodenticide

Synonyms & related words for poison

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of poison — including empoison, envenom, toxicant, venom, venomousness, venin. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to poison

Explore words related to poison — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include alexipharmic, antiar, toxicogenic, poisonous, counterpoison, zootoxin, curarize, strychninism. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for poison

Common synonyms for poison include empoison, envenom, toxicant, venom, venomousness, venin, toxin, toxic — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does poison come from?

The word poison breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root pois-, from Latin poto (“drink, potion”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.