Word of the Day

: April 15, 2008

detoxify

verb dee-TAHK-suh-fye

What It Means

1 a : to remove a harmful substance (as a poison or toxin) or the effect of such from

b : to render (a harmful substance) harmless

2 : to free (as a drug user or an alcoholic) from an intoxicating or an addictive substance in the body or from dependence on or addiction to such a substance

3 : neutralize

detoxify in Context

Yi wrote her term paper on the city's efforts to detoxify a contaminated landfill.

Did You Know?

These days, "detoxify" can mean "to free (someone) from a substance addiction" (and yes, it's the source of "detox," a more recent word that also refers to getting drugs or alcohol out of a person's system). Originally, however, detoxification was something done to things rather than to people. In its earliest uses -- from about 1905 -- "detoxify" referred to the removal of poison, or of poisonous or damaging properties, from a harmful substance, or to the removal of poisonous or toxic substances from something contaminated (such as the bloodstream).The specific application to removing "poison" from an addict is relatively new, dating to the mid-20th century. Today, "detoxify" is also often used generally in reference to counteracting the activity or effect of anything harmful (such as propaganda).

*Indicates the senses illustrated in the example sentence.