as in poisoned
containing or contaminated with a substance capable of injuring or killing a living thing
some evil person was leaving out poisonous meat for neighborhood dogs to eat
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Recent Examples of poisonous
Erin Patterson, who murdered three relatives with poisonous mushrooms, has been given a life prison sentence by the supreme court in Australia.
—
Max Goldbart, Deadline, 8 Sep. 2025
Wolf spider bites are not poisonous and won't cause sores or body-wide symptoms from its venom.
—Carrie Madormo, Health, 6 Sep. 2025
This unconstitutional partisan politicization is poisonous to unit morale and discipline with long-term consequences for who serves and why.
—Chicago Tribune, 5 Sep. 2025
And when that fish, in turn, succumbs to the claws of a bald eagle, its DDT dense meat becomes a poisonous lunch for an oblivious bird.
—Sophie Hartley, IndyStar, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for poisonous
Max Goldbart, Deadline, 8 Sep. 2025
Wolf spider bites are not poisonous and won't cause sores or body-wide symptoms from its venom.
—Carrie Madormo, Health, 6 Sep. 2025
This unconstitutional partisan politicization is poisonous to unit morale and discipline with long-term consequences for who serves and why.
—Chicago Tribune, 5 Sep. 2025
And when that fish, in turn, succumbs to the claws of a bald eagle, its DDT dense meat becomes a poisonous lunch for an oblivious bird.
—Sophie Hartley, IndyStar, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for poisonous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poisonous
Adjective
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Constant procedural upheaval and backlogs are poison.—
Scott White,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
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Behavior and reproduction Most frogs are nocturnal, but not poison frogs.—
National Geographic,
National Geographic,
28 Feb. 2020
Adjective
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Their path back to congressional power runs through winning swing districts and states in the 2026 midterm elections, where a connection to a Democratic Socialist would be politically toxic.—
Lauren Green,
The Washington Examiner,
16 Sep. 2025
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While exposure to most of the emitted fumes — which consist of unknown quantities of neurotoxins, carbon monoxide, and other chemicals — isn't toxic, long-term exposure can lead to more serious issues.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Kentucky is home to various types of venomous snakes and spiders, but there's another pest in the commonwealth that's considered the most deadly animal in the world, despite its small size.—
Marina Johnson,
Louisville Courier Journal,
15 Sep. 2025
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All sides, though, seem to converge around a dark view that the country is too divided, the rhetoric too venomous and the violence too frequent to sustain the American experiment unless something happens to ease partisan hostilities and bring the sides together.—
Mike Lillis,
The Hill,
13 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Poisonous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poisonous. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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