poisoning Definition

poison
noun

1. Any substance that damages tissues or causes death when injected, absorbed or swallowed by living organisms, eg arsenic and cyanide.

Thesaurus: toxin, venom, aconite.
2. Any destructive or corrupting influence.

Example: a poison spreading through society
Thesaurus: contamination, virus, contagion, blight, bane, corruption, canker, malignancy, cancer, miasma.
3. chem.
A substance that inhibits the action of a catalyst.
4. In a nuclear reactor: a substance which absorbs neutrons and so slows down the reaction.

verb poisoned, poisoning

1. To harm or kill with poison.
2. To put poison into (food, etc).
3. To contaminate or pollute.

Example: rivers poisoned by effluents
Thesaurus: taint, defile, contaminate, adulterate, pollute, infect.
4. To corrupt or pervert (someone's mind).

Thesaurus: taint, corrupt, defile, contaminate, pollute, pervert, infect, warp, deprave.
5. To influence them to be hostile.

Form: poison one person against another (especially)
6. To harm or spoil in an unpleasant or malicious way.

Example: Jealousy poisoned their relationship
7. colloq
To infect.
8. To inhibit or stop (a chemical or nuclear reaction) by the addition of a poison.

Derivative: poisoner
noun

Idiom: what's your poison?

colloq
What would you like to drink?

Etymology: 13c: from French puisun, from Latin potio a poisonous draught, from potare to drink.