1
as in tainting
to affect slightly with something morally bad or undesirable
poisoning the minds of impressionable children with ethnic hatred
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in polluting
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 degrading
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 turning
to cause to have often negative opinions formed without sufficient knowledge
malicious rumors had poisoned many church members against the new pastor
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of poisoning
Sherrilyn McQueen, who has published more than 80 novels that reached the New York Times bestseller list under the name Sherrilyn Kenyon, first accused her ex-husband Lawrence Kenyon of poisoning her in a lawsuit in 2019, a year after her husband filed for divorce.
—
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
Trump blamed Schumer for poisoning the well with unreasonable demands, while the New York Democrat said the president’s nominees deserve an extra layer of scrutiny given his actions during the first eight months of his term.
—Al Weaver, The Hill, 4 Sep. 2025
Beyond the broader ecological catastrophes that await us, wildfires harm people with smoke that can travel hundreds of kilometers from the source fire, poisoning people with small particles and a portfolio of toxins.
—Suwanna Gauntlett Upjohn, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
In the mid-1890s, her former landlords Israel and Lovey Dunham died after sudden illnesses; Toppan later acknowledged poisoning them, according to Boston Magazine.
—Christina Coulter, People.com, 16 Aug. 2025
His father, John, died in 1992 of a morphine overdose—an event that led to criminal charges against Colvin’s mother, Veronica, who was accused of poisoning him.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 11 Aug. 2025
The fraudsters are poisoning the well for profit and if they're not stopped soon, then the days of being able to trust the body of scientific literature, and of having the ability to distinguish between scientific fact and scientific fake, may be coming to an end.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 11 Aug. 2025
Then came the radioactive black rain, which fell over the city, silently poisoning countless more.
—Mai Nishiyama, NBC news, 6 Aug. 2025
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
Trump blamed Schumer for poisoning the well with unreasonable demands, while the New York Democrat said the president’s nominees deserve an extra layer of scrutiny given his actions during the first eight months of his term.
—Al Weaver, The Hill, 4 Sep. 2025
Beyond the broader ecological catastrophes that await us, wildfires harm people with smoke that can travel hundreds of kilometers from the source fire, poisoning people with small particles and a portfolio of toxins.
—Suwanna Gauntlett Upjohn, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
In the mid-1890s, her former landlords Israel and Lovey Dunham died after sudden illnesses; Toppan later acknowledged poisoning them, according to Boston Magazine.
—Christina Coulter, People.com, 16 Aug. 2025
His father, John, died in 1992 of a morphine overdose—an event that led to criminal charges against Colvin’s mother, Veronica, who was accused of poisoning him.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 11 Aug. 2025
The fraudsters are poisoning the well for profit and if they're not stopped soon, then the days of being able to trust the body of scientific literature, and of having the ability to distinguish between scientific fact and scientific fake, may be coming to an end.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 11 Aug. 2025
Then came the radioactive black rain, which fell over the city, silently poisoning countless more.
—Mai Nishiyama, NBC news, 6 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poisoning
Verb
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And around all this, the whiff of Epstein is tainting the president's achievements.—
Kate Plummer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The technology ideally should be used for sectors that are difficult to decarbonize, such as cement production, aviation and agriculture, rather than to extend the life of polluting power plants or to prolong the use of oil and gas, Koberle said.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
5 Sep. 2025
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Stop polluting and give them stable, growing economies in which to be raised.—
Suwanna Gauntlett Upjohn,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
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For Mono County, which was issued by NWS Reno, the advisory warned that dense smoke was reducing visibility to 1 mile or less and also degrading air quality.—
Anna Skinner,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Sep. 2025
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Design for Choice, Not Chaos Present customers with multiple options, from digital wallets to local payment rails, without degrading user experience.—
Christer Holloman,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The crowd takes it all in wearing headphones with green lights, turning the night into a kind of silent disco in a scene straight out of Mad Max.—
David Hochman,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
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The Andante cantabile offers benevolence tinged with shadow, its harmonies turning suddenly ominous.—
Sheila Regan,
Twin Cities,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Dylan O’Brien stans might have already seen Twinless, the movie that got leaked because his die-hards couldn’t resist spoiling a major scene from it out of Sundance.—
Savannah Salazar,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
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Shelf-stable items are often the most plentiful in Burmese grocery stores in Milwaukee since they can be shipped across the world without refrigeration or concerns about spoiling.—
Sophie Carson,
jsonline.com,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Can it be taken without an unacceptable risk of contaminating the supply from the ocean above?—
Rodrique Ngowi,
Fortune,
7 Sep. 2025
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Just as Cassini was sent into Saturn at the end of its mission to avoid contaminating Saturn’s moons with any stowaway organics brought from Earth, so too will Juno be brought to an end by forcing it to plunge into a gas giant world.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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This comes as reports continue to roll in that another August update fail has been corrupting PC SSDs when writing large files.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
21 Aug. 2025
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May End Up Carrying Weapons—Report Stop the billionaire takeover corrupting our government.—
Kate Plummer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 Aug. 2025
Verb
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But convincing risk-averse regulators to approve data-sharing, even anonymized, will be a major hurdle.—
Roomy Khan,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
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And Cohere, too, is hoping to win over more than friends — by convincing enterprises, investors, and skeptics alike that ROI, not AGI, is the smarter bet.—
Sharon Goldman,
Fortune,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Poisoning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poisoning. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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