poisonous Hear it!

poisonous Definition

poi·son·ous (po̵izə nəs)

adjective

capable of injuring or killing by or as by poison; containing, or having the effects of, a poison; toxic; venomous

poisonous Related Forms
poi·son·ously adverb poi·son·ous·ness noun
poisonous Synonyms

poisonous

modif.

poisonous Usage Examples

Preposition: on

  • ingestion: The plant is poisonous on ingestion ( Lewis & Elvin-Lewis 1977 ).

Modifies a noun

  • snake: Of course, a poisonous snake in a confined space COULD be scary indeed!
  • alkaloid: The accumulation of poisonous alkaloids can result in liver sclerosis, which may not be obvious for up to eighteen months.
  • spider: More questioning reveals he had put three of these poisonous spiders in Henry's bag.
  • mushroom: There is also a serious risk of poisoning, possibly fatal, where poisonous mushrooms are taken in error.
  • substance: The liver is responsible for removing poisonous substances from the blood.

Used with adjective complement

  • consider: For the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.
  • become: The atmosphere on the front line became ever more poisonous.
  • regard: Case studies - alcohol research For centuries, alcohol has been regarded as poisonous for the liver.
  • render: To impregnate ( the air, or something to be eaten, etc. ) with poison; to render poisonous.

Infinitive complement

  • eat: Its belly is usually orange or yellow with blotches, a warning to would-be predators that they are poisonous to eat.

Modifying Another Word

  • potentially: This new directive is an important step toward getting potentially poisonous substances out of the waste stream.
  • highly: Warning: the seed within the berry is highly poisonous.
  • extremely: The tank would be filled with ' Paris Green ' , an extremely poisonous insecticide.
  • very: Some flowers, just like other plants, can be very poisonous.
  • so: Yet if praise be given as an alms, we could not drop so poisonous a one into any man's hat.
  • not: During our trip we only saw one snake, a not poisonous Carpet Python.

Preposition: in

  • quantity: The carbon monoxide from the smoke itself is poisonous in large quantities.

Preposition: than

  • arsenic: But it's more toxic than lead, and only slightly less poisonous than arsenic.