poison

A substance that can make people or animals very ill or kill them if it enters their bodies.

• Keep the poison away from children.
• The bottle contained a deadly poison.
• Doctors gave her medicine after she swallowed poison.

Similar words: toxin

Common phrases: rat poison, deadly poison, swallow poison, take poison

Something that seriously harms a person, relationship, or situation.

• Hatred is poison to a community.
• Her cruel words spread poison through the family.
• Jealousy became a slow poison in their marriage.

How to use it: poison to something (Constant suspicion is poison to friendship.)

Similar words: bane

Common phrases: poison to something, spread poison, emotional poison

To make a person or animal ill, or kill them, through a harmful substance.

• The fumes could poison us.
• Several dogs were poisoned in the park.
• The child was accidentally poisoned by cleaning fluid.

Common phrases: poison someone, poison an animal, accidentally poison someone

To put a harmful substance into food, drink, or something else.

• Someone tried to poison his food.
• She feared that her drink had been poisoned.
• Did they poison the soup?

Common phrases: poison someone’s food, poison a drink

To make air, water, or land harmful by adding dangerous substances.

• Factory waste poisoned the river.
• These chemicals can poison the soil.
• Smoke from the fire was poisoning the air.

Similar words: pollute, contaminate

Opposites: purify

Common phrases: poison the water, poison the soil, poison the air

To make a relationship, feeling, or situation much worse.

• Suspicion can poison a friendship.
• His insults poisoned the atmosphere at work.
• Years of resentment had poisoned their marriage.

Similar words: damage, ruin, sour

Opposites: improve

Common phrases: poison a relationship, poison the atmosphere, poison a debate

To fill someone’s mind with harmful ideas or negative feelings about others.

• Those lies poisoned her mind.
• He tried to poison the children against their mother.
• Years of propaganda had poisoned their thinking.

How to use it: poison someone against someone (She tried to poison him against his friends.)

Similar words: corrupt

Common phrases: poison someone’s mind, poison someone against someone