poison 1 of 3

poison

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noun

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

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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
Constant procedural upheaval and backlogs are poison. Scott White, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025 Behavior and reproduction Most frogs are nocturnal, but not poison frogs. National Geographic, 28 Feb. 2020
Noun
This poison apple sour will cast you under its spell from the very first sip. Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Aug. 2025 New York lawmakers are proposing rules to humanely drive down the population of rats and other rodents, eyeing contraception and a ban on glue traps as alternatives to poison or a slow, brutal death. Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Aug. 2025
Verb
As part of her ruling, Kreuziger barred McQueen, 59, from saying Lawrence Kenyon poisoned or attempted to poison her while they were married. Evan Mealins, The Tennessean, 10 Sep. 2025 Symptoms of salmonella poisoning Symptoms of salmonella infection usually start six hours to six days after swallowing the bacteria. Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for poison
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poison
Noun
  • In 2023, 20 steel mills and coke plants nationwide emitted nearly 2.4 million pounds of air toxics, 289,722 tons of criteria air pollutants and 43.3 million metric tons of greenhouse gases, according to the study.
    Maya Wilkins, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2025
  • Just last week, for example, the Trump administration, through its Environmental Protection Agency, proposed to withdraw two rules imposing air toxics and greenhouse gas limits on fossil-fuel power plants.
    Wayne Messam, Sun Sentinel, 15 June 2025
Verb
  • Rahmani, the former prosecutor, said statements by Patel and other Justice Department officials could raise concerns about tainting the jury pool in a future trial.
    Erin Mansfield, USA Today, 15 Sep. 2025
  • Swift and Lively’s long friendship had been a distinct sub-plot in the IEWU legal battles, with tabloid fodder that the duo have fallen out over the controversy adverse Eras Tour performer getting tainted with the whole thing.
    Dominic Patten, Deadline, 12 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • What To Know The annual $1 billion allocation comes from California's cap-and-invest program, which collects fees from polluting industries.
    Theo Burman, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Farmers overapplying them in their fields can cause nitrogen-laden runoff that pollutes water and the air.
    Bloomberg, Mercury News, 10 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Today’s batteries depend on scarce resources like lithium and cobalt and degrade over time.
    Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 10 Sep. 2025
  • These perform well at low to medium heat, but begin to degrade around 500 °F, potentially releasing harmful fumes that can pose health risks.
    Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 8 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Nolthenius hopes that more astronomers – professionals and amateurs – will turn their eyes to the skies to observe Quaoar's occultations.
    Nola Taylor Tillman, Space.com, 10 Sep. 2025
  • In less than six hours, the protest turned violent when police used water cannons, tear gas, rubber bullets and then gunfire, killing at least 19 people including children and injuring hundreds of others.
    Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The other problem is that many homes have more poisonous substances easily available than in the past, Willard said.
    Madeline Holcombe, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2025
  • Erin Patterson, who murdered three relatives with poisonous mushrooms, has been given a life prison sentence by the supreme court in Australia.
    Max Goldbart, Deadline, 8 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Those drugs, which target rare diseases, and some newer cancer treatments are part of the reason Sun Life Financial covered 47 claims last year that cost over $3 million.
    Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Certain health conditions, including liver disease, cancer, diabetes or HIV, or immunosuppressants, raise the risk for severe illness.
    Mollye Barrows, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Despite Alfred and Jefferson-Wooden being the clear favorites for gold in the 100-meter dash, there are a few others besides Fraser-Pryce who could spoil the party.
    Katelyn Hutchison, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
  • Instead, the couple is content to spoil their dog, Bimini, a mini Labradoodle whom Berk first introduced on his Instagram in 2021.
    Erin Clack, PEOPLE, 13 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Poison.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poison. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.

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