poison

The definition of a poison is a substance that destroys, makes sick or kills, or anything that is harmful to happiness.

(noun)

  1. An example of a poison is cyanide.
  2. An example of a poison is a negative attitude that destroys a positive environment.

Poison is defined as to give or put in a substance that destroys, makes sick or kills, or to corrupt a mind.

(verb)

  1. An example of poison is to pour lethal drugs into food.
  2. An example of poison is to tell a child that they will never amount to anything; to poison the child's mind.

YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2013 by LoveToKnow Corp.

See poison in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

  1. a substance causing illness or death when eaten, drunk, or absorbed even in relatively small quantities
  2. anything harmful or destructive to happiness or welfare, such as an idea, emotion, etc.
  3. in a nuclear reactor, a substance, as boron, that readily absorbs thermal neutrons from a chain reaction, thereby decreasing the reactivity of a reactor core: it is used for safety or control
  4. Chem. a substance that inhibits or destroys the activity of a catalyst, enzyme, etc. or that interferes with or checks a reaction

Origin: OFr < L potio, potion

transitive verb

  1. to give poison to; harm or destroy by means of poison
  2. to put poison on or into
  3. to influence wrongfully; corrupt: to poison someone's mind

adjective

poisonous or poisoned

Related Forms:

See poison in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun
  1. A substance that causes injury, illness, or death, especially by chemical means.
  2. Something destructive or fatal.
  3. Chemistry & Physics A substance that inhibits another substance or a reaction: a catalyst poison.
transitive verb poi·soned, poi·son·ing, poi·sons
  1. To kill or harm with poison.
  2. To put poison on or into: poisoning arrows; poisoned the drink.
  3. a. To pollute: Noxious fumes poison the air. See Synonyms at contaminate.
    b. To have a harmful influence on; corrupt: Jealousy poisoned their friendship.
  4. Chemistry & Physics To inhibit (a substance or reaction).
adjective
Poisonous.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English

Origin: , from Old French

Origin: , from Latin pōtiō, pōtiōn-, drink; see pō(i)- in Indo-European roots

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Related Forms:

  • poiˈson·er noun
Word History: The phrase poison potion, besides being alliterative, also consists of doublets, that is, two words that go back ultimately to the same source in another language. The source for both words is Latin pōtiō (stem form pōtiōn-), which meant “the act of drinking, a drink, or a draft, as of a medicine or poison.” Our word potion, which retains the sense “dose,” passed through Old French (pocion) on its way to Middle English (pocion), first recorded in a work composed around 1300. In Old French pocion is a learned borrowing, one that was deliberately taken from Latin in a form corresponding to the Latin form. Our spelling potion is the result of a similar impulse toward Latinization; in the late Renaissance and Enlightenment, numerous English words that had been borrowed from Old French were respelled according to the shape of their Latin ancestors. Pocion thus was changed to potion on the model of Latin pōtiō. But the Latin word had also passed through Vulgar Latin into Old French in the different form poison. This word meant “beverage,” “liquid dose,” and also “poison beverage, poison.” The word poison is first recorded in Middle English in a work composed around 1200.

See poison in Ologies

Poison

See also death; drugs; killing.

alexipharmac, alexipharmic

a remedy for or antidote against poison or infection. —alexipharmic, adj.

atropism

poisoning caused by atropine or belladonna.

barbiturism

a condition of chronic poisoning caused by excessive use of barbiturates.

botulism

a disease of the nervous system caused by botulin developments in spoiled foods eaten by animals and man; a variety of bacterial food poisoning.

cantharidism

a toxic condition caused by the misuse of the counterirritant and diuretic cantharides.

enriositatis

drunkenness or intoxication from alcohol, especially as an habitual state.

enterotoxemia

a condition in which the blood contains toxin from the intestines.

ergotism

a condition caused by eating rye or some other grain infected with ergot fungus or by an overdose of an ergot medicinal agent.

iophobia

an abnormal fear of poisons. Cf. toxiphobia.

mephitism

mephitic or carbon dioxide poisoning. —mephitic, mephitical, adj.

mithridatism

the production of immunity against the action of a poison by consuming it regularly in gradually larger doses.

mycetism

any of a variety of toxic conditions produced by poisonous mush-rooms. Also mycetismus.

phosphorism

chronic phosphorus poisoning.

plumbism

an acute toxic condition caused by the absorption of lead into the body by skin contact, ingestion, or inhalation; lead poisoning. Also called saturnism.

plutonism

a poisoning caused by exposure to radioactive plutonium.

ptyalism

excessive salivation, usually associated with chronic mercury poisoning.

rodenticide

a substance that kills rodents.

salicylism

a toxic condition produced by excessive intake of salicylic acid, marked by vomiting and ringing in the ears.

salmonellosis

an illness caused by food tainted with certain species of salmonella bacteria.

sapremia, sapraemia

blood poisoning caused by putrefactive microorganisms in the bloodstream.

saturnism

plumbism.

septicemia

blood poisoning caused by pathogenic microorganisms and their toxic products in the bloodstream. —septicemic, septicaemic, adj.

stibialism

poisoning from antimony.

strychnism

a toxic condition caused by excessive use of strychnine.

tabacism

addiction to tobacco; poisoning from excessive use of tobacco. Also called tabagism, tobaccoism.

thebaism

Archaic. a toxic condition produced by thebaine, a derivative of opium.

toxicology

the branch of medical science that studies the effects, antidotes, detection, etc., of poisons. —toxicologist, n.toxicologie, toxicological, adj.

toxiphobia

an abnormal fear of poisoning. Also called toxicophobia. Cf. iophobia.toxiphobe, toxiphobiac, n.

tyrotoxism

poisoning caused by microbes in stale cheese or milk.

urotoxy, urotoxia

1. the toxicity or toxic content of urine.

2. the unit used in measuring the toxicity of urine, a quantity sufficient to kill an animal weighing one kilogram. —urotoxic, adj.

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