poisonous
English
Etymology
From Middle English poisounous, poysonouse, equivalent to poison + -ous.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈpɔɪzənəs/, /ˈpɔɪznəs/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -ɔɪzənəs, -ɔɪznəs
Adjective
poisonous (comparative more poisonous, superlative most poisonous)
- Containing sufficient poison to be dangerous to touch or ingest.
- While highly poisonous to dogs, this substance is completely harmless if ingested by humans.
- 1757, John Dyer, “Book I”, in The Fleece: A Poem […] , London: R. and J. Dodsley, page 40:
- Nor taint-worm ſhall infect the yeaning herds / Nor penny-graſs, nor ſpearwort's poiſ'nous leaf.
- 2003, Charles L. Fergus, Common Edible and Poisonous Mushrooms of the Northeast, Stackpole Books, →ISBN, page 77:
- I had picked a mushroom so poisonous that particles of it, stuck to my fingers and accidentally swallowed, could have made me deathly ill, and a piece the size of my thumb could have killed me.
- Synonyms: poisoned, toxic, venomous, (dialectal or archaic) attery
- Antonyms: nonpoisonous, unpoisonous
- (figuratively) Negative, harmful.
- 2013, Kylie Griffin, Allegiance Sworn, Penguin, →ISBN:
- He didn't want to end up like his grandfather, bitter and intractable, consumed in his hatred like an addict on haze — a poisonous attitude that would possess him all his remaining years.
- Synonym: toxic
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Usage notes
Some speakers make a distinction between poisonous (releasing toxins when eaten), and venomous (releasing toxins (known as venom in this case) by biting a target), especially in non-colloquial speech.
Derived terms
- autopoisonous
- nonpoisonous
- poisonously
- poisonousness
- unpoisonous
Translations
containing sufficient poison to be dangerous
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(figuratively) negative, harmful
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