Meanings
nounpoison (countable and uncountable, plural poisons)
plural poisons
- countablefigurativelyuncountableAnything harmful to a person or thing.
Gossip is a malicious poison.
1 more example
Awaie with the Rebels ſuffer them not to ſpeake, His words are poyſon in the eares of the people, […]
1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […], →OCLC, Act IV
verbpoison (third-person singular simple present poisons, present participle poisoning, simple past and past participle poisoned)
present singular third person poisons · participle present poisoning · participle past poisoned · past poisoned
- transitiveTo pollute; to cause to become poisonous.
That factory is poisoning the river.
Synonyms: contaminate, pollute, taint
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA substance that is harmful or lethal to a living organism when ingested.
verbTo pollute; to cause to become poisonous.
Similar
More synonyms by meaning
nounany substance that causes injury or illness or death of a living organism
Similar
toxicantpoisonous substance
Broader
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinpōtiōnem“drink, a draught, a poisonous draught, a potion”
- Old Frenchpoison
- Middle Englishpoysoun
- Englishpoison
From Middle English poysoun, poyson, pusoun, from Old French poison, poisun, from Latin pōtiōnem (“drink, a draught, a poisonous draught, a potion”), from pōtō (“to drink”). See also potion and potable (from the same root). Mostly displaced native Old English ātor and lybb. See more at atter.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans gif
- gifsubstance harmful to a living organism
Ancient Greek ἰός
- ἰός (iós)substance harmful to a living organism
Arabic سُمّ, سَمّ
- سُمّ (summ)substance harmful to a living organism
- سَمّ (samm)substance harmful to a living organism
- سَمَّمَ (sammama)to use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- سَمَّ (samma)to use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
Basque pozoi
- pozoisubstance harmful to a living organism
Bengali বিষ, জহর
- বিষ (biś)substance harmful to a living organism
- জহর (johor)substance harmful to a living organism
Bulgarian отро́ва, тровя
- отро́ва (otróva)substance harmful to a living organism
- тровя (trovja)to use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- отравям (otravjam)to use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- развалям (razvaljam)make worse
Catalan verí, metzina
- verísubstance harmful to a living organism
- metzinasubstance harmful to a living organism
- verísomething that harms
- metzinasomething that harms
- emmetzinarto use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- enverinarto use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- emmetzinarpollute
- enverinarpollute
- emmetzinarmake worse
- enverinarmake worse
Chinese Cantonese 毒, 毒物
- 毒 (duk⁶)substance harmful to a living organism
- 毒物 (duk⁶ mat⁶)substance harmful to a living organism
- 毒藥 /毒药 (duk⁶ joek⁶)substance harmful to a living organism
Chinese Mandarin 毒, 毒物
- 毒 (dú)substance harmful to a living organism
- 毒物 (dúwù)substance harmful to a living organism
- 毒藥 /毒药 (dúyào)substance harmful to a living organism
- 毒害 (dúhài)to use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- 毒死 (dúsǐ)to use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- 毒殺 /毒杀 (dúshā)to use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
Czech jed, jed
- jedsubstance harmful to a living organism
- jedsomething that harms
- otrávitto use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- trávitto use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- otrávitpollute
- otrávitmake worse
Danish gift, forgifte
- giftsubstance harmful to a living organism
- forgifteto use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
Dari زَهْر
- زَهْر (zahr)substance harmful to a living organism
Dutch gif, vergif
- gifsubstance harmful to a living organism
- vergifsubstance harmful to a living organism
- vergiftsubstance harmful to a living organism
- vergiftigento use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
Esperanto veneno, veneni
- venenosubstance harmful to a living organism
- venenito use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
Estonian mürk, mürgitama
- mürksubstance harmful to a living organism
- mürgitamato use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
Finnish myrkky, myrkyttää
- myrkkysubstance harmful to a living organism
- myrkyttääto use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
French poison, empoisonner
- poisonsubstance harmful to a living organism
- empoisonnerto use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
German Gift, Giftstoff
- Giftsubstance harmful to a living organism
- Giftstoffsubstance harmful to a living organism
- vergiftento use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
Greek δηλητήριο, φαρμάκι
- δηλητήριο (dilitírio)substance harmful to a living organism
- φαρμάκι (farmáki)substance harmful to a living organism
- δηλητήριο (dilitírio)something that harms
- ποτό (potó)liquor
- δηλητηριάζω (dilitiriázo)to use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- φαρμακώνω (farmakóno)to use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- μολύνω (molýno)pollute
- δηλητηριάζω (dilitiriázo)make worse
Hebrew רַעַל, סַם
- רַעַל (rá'al)substance harmful to a living organism
- סַם (sam)substance harmful to a living organism
Hindi बिस, विष
- बिस (bis)substance harmful to a living organism
- विष (viṣ)substance harmful to a living organism
- ज़हर (zahar)substance harmful to a living organism
- हलाहल (halāhal)substance harmful to a living organism
Hungarian méreg, megmérgez
- méregsubstance harmful to a living organism
- megmérgezto use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- mérgezpollute
- károsítpollute
- mérgezmake worse
- megmérgezmake worse
- ártmake worse
- elmérgesítmake worse
- károsítmake worse
- megmételyezmake worse
- megfertőzmake worse
- megrontmake worse
Icelandic eitur, eitra
- eitursubstance harmful to a living organism
- eitrato use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
Indonesian racun, bisa
- racunsubstance harmful to a living organism
- bisasubstance harmful to a living organism
- meracunito use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
Iranian Persian زَهْر
- زَهْر (zahr)substance harmful to a living organism
Irish nimh, nimhigh
- nimhsubstance harmful to a living organism
- nimhighto use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- truaillighpollute
- truaillighmake worse
Italian veleno, avvelenare
- velenosubstance harmful to a living organism
- avvelenareto use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- intossicareto use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
Japanese 毒, 毒殺する
- 毒 (doku)substance harmful to a living organism
- 毒殺する (dokusatsu suru)to use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- 毒害する (dokugai suru)to use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
Korean 독, 독살하다
- 독 (dok)substance harmful to a living organism
- 독살하다 (doksalhada)to use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
Latin venēnum, toxicum
- venēnumsubstance harmful to a living organism
- toxicumsubstance harmful to a living organism
- venēnōto use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
Latvian inde, noindēt
- indesubstance harmful to a living organism
- noindētto use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- saindētpollute
- samaitātmake worse
Lithuanian nuodai, nuodas
- nuodaisubstance harmful to a living organism
- nuodassubstance harmful to a living organism
- nuodytito use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
Malay racun
- racunsubstance harmful to a living organism
Māori huarua, paitini
- huaruasubstance harmful to a living organism
- paitinisubstance harmful to a living organism
- paitinito use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- whakaparupollute
Norwegian Bokmål gift, gift
- giftsubstance harmful to a living organism
- giftsomething that harms
Polish trucizna, jad
- truciznasubstance harmful to a living organism
- jadsubstance harmful to a living organism
- trućto use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- zatruwaćto use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- otrućto use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
Portuguese veneno, tóxico
- venenosubstance harmful to a living organism
- tóxicosubstance harmful to a living organism
- envenenarto use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- empeçonharto use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- intoxicarto use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
Romanian otravă, venin
- otravăsubstance harmful to a living organism
- veninsubstance harmful to a living organism
- otrăvito use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- înveninato use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- intoxicato use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
Russian яд, отра́ва
- яд (jad)substance harmful to a living organism
- отра́ва (otráva)substance harmful to a living organism
- отравля́ть (otravljátʹ)to use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- трави́ть (travítʹ)to use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- отрави́ть (otravítʹ)to use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- отравля́ть (otravljátʹ)pollute
- трави́ть (travítʹ)pollute
- отрави́ть (otravítʹ)pollute
- отравля́ть (otravljátʹ)make worse
- отрави́ть (otravítʹ)make worse
Scottish Gaelic nimh, puinnsean
- nimhsubstance harmful to a living organism
- puinnseansubstance harmful to a living organism
- nimhsomething that harms
Slovak jed, jed
- jedsubstance harmful to a living organism
- jedliquor
- otráviťto use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- otráviťpollute
- otráviťmake worse
Spanish veneno, ponzoña
- venenosubstance harmful to a living organism
- ponzoñasubstance harmful to a living organism
- emponzoñarto use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- aponzoñar (disused)to use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
Swahili sumu
- sumusubstance harmful to a living organism
Swedish gift, förgifta
- giftsubstance harmful to a living organism
- förgiftato use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
Tagalog lason
- lasonsubstance harmful to a living organism
Tamil விடம், நஞ்சு
- விடம் (viṭam)substance harmful to a living organism
- நஞ்சு (nañcu)substance harmful to a living organism
Thai พิษ, ยาพิษ
- พิษ (pít)substance harmful to a living organism
- ยาพิษ (yaa-pít)substance harmful to a living organism
- ยาเบื่อ (yaa-bʉ̀ʉa)substance harmful to a living organism
- วางยาto use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- เบื่อ (bʉ̀ʉa)to use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
Turkish zehir, ağı
- zehirsubstance harmful to a living organism
- ağısubstance harmful to a living organism
- zıkkımsomething that harms
- ağısomething that harms
- zıkkımliquor
- zehirlemekto use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- ağılamakto use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- zehirlemekmake worse
Ukrainian отру́та, отру́я
- отру́та (otrúta)substance harmful to a living organism
- отру́я (otrúja)substance harmful to a living organism
- отру́ювати (otrújuvaty)to use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- тру́їти (trújity)to use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- отру́їти (otrújity)to use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
Urdu زَہْر, ہَلاہَل
- زَہْر (zahr)substance harmful to a living organism
- ہَلاہَل (halāhal)substance harmful to a living organism
Vietnamese chất độc, thuốc độc
- chất độcsubstance harmful to a living organism
- thuốc độcsubstance harmful to a living organism
- độcsubstance harmful to a living organism
Welsh gwenwyn, gwenwyno
- gwenwynsubstance harmful to a living organism
- gwenwynoto use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- gwenwynopollute
Yiddish סם, גיפֿט
- סם (sam)substance harmful to a living organism
- גיפֿט (gift)substance harmful to a living organism
- פֿאַרסמען (farsamen)to use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- פֿאַרגיפֿטן (fargiftn)to use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
- סמען (samen)to use poison to kill or paralyse — see also envenom, intoxicate
Zulu isihlungu, ubuthi
- isihlungusubstance harmful to a living organism
- ubuthisubstance harmful to a living organism
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with poison
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
poison. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poison
MLA
“poison.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poison. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “poison,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poison.
Source: poison on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.