poisoned 1 of 2

adjective

as in poisonous
containing or contaminated with a substance capable of injuring or killing a living thing leaving poisoned food to try to kill the roaches

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poisoned

2 of 2

verb

past tense of poison
1
as in tainted
to affect slightly with something morally bad or undesirable poisoning the minds of impressionable children with ethnic hatred

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2
as in polluted
to make unfit for use by the addition of something harmful or undesirable exhaust fumes poisoning the air

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3
as in degraded
to lower in character, dignity, or quality this party partisanship poisons the national debate we should be having about this urgent problem

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4
as in turned
to cause to have often negative opinions formed without sufficient knowledge malicious rumors had poisoned many church members against the new pastor

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of poisoned
Verb
Rau, wondering if his patients had been poisoned somehow, had his staff check the kitchen for contamination. — D. T. Max, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026 Its death, poisoned by anti-freeze in April 2020 during Spain’s COVID confinement, sparks on screen and real-life the first criminal investigation in Spain and Europe for an animal’s slaughter. — John Hopewell, Variety, 23 Oct. 2026 Above all, Flanagan understands how even a mother’s love can be poisoned by fear when Carrie uses her newfound powers to wrest control of the household from her mother. — ArsTechnica, 21 Oct. 2026 Apparently, Griffith now suspected that the Mesmers had poisoned Briswalter, and planned to poison him next. — Andrew Coletti, Popular Science, 14 Oct. 2026 The video cuts to Swift living out exactly what Johnson’s been living through, revealing that Farrell poisoned Swift, leading to her death. — Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 27 Sep. 2026 In her other case, Hogan has been accused of trying to falsify a paternity test in a custody battle with her ex-fiancé, who was not the same man who was allegedly poisoned. — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 25 Sep. 2026 Ten lions found dead in a wildlife reserve in Tanzania are suspected to have been poisoned, according to wildlife officials. — Kristin Wright, NPR, 20 Sep. 2026 The attacks escalated this summer, with 16 trees — 13 Jeffrey pines and three white firs — poisoned on three occasions between May and early August. — Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 19 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poisoned
  1. poisonous
  2. tainted
  3. polluted
  4. degraded
  5. turned
  6. poison
  7. spoiled
  8. contaminated
Adjective
  • Now, a poisonous residue on the same crowbar has left him incapacitated.
    — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2026
  • This low-temperature, low-pressure hydrometallurgical method removes arsenic cleanly and operates without fossil fuels or poisonous gas emissions.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of poisonous
Verb
  • Or has dance music’s bad rap — as fun but vacuous and unserious — tainted the current version of the genre?
    — Rachel Narozniak, Rolling Stone, 21 Oct. 2026
  • That means if the sewage system backs up, the sink could be tainted.
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of tainted
Verb
  • When those waters are polluted, the damage is not confined to a technical measurement in a permit or a line on a monitoring report.
    — Dana Adkins, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026
  • In a world riven by democratic backsliding and polluted with AI slop, there’s something seductive about the idea of retreating to a wild, unnavigable place where no one can follow you—because you’ll be submerged up to your eyeballs.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of polluted
Verb
  • With so few ancient samples of dodo DNA surviving—and that which does exist having degraded over the centuries—the analytic and number-crunching power of AI is just what’s needed to fill in the genetic blanks.
    — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Russia’s constant attacks on factories, energy supply systems and the railways means that steel supply to the Ukrainian armed forces is also being degraded.
    — Kamal Ahmed, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of degraded
Verb
  • Edwards and Ball combined for 17 points during that spurt, while the Heat missed six of nine shots and turned the ball over on four possessions.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026
  • In that incident, surveillance footage — first reported by the Daily News — showed the fare-checkers pushing Brooklyn school aide Kyle Taylor up against a bus stop shelter following a fare dispute that had turned physical.
    — Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of turned
Adjective
  • Power to the people is poison to the powerful.
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 10 Feb. 2026
  • Dropped in recent years because carbs are poison.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Jan. 2026
Definition of poison
Verb
  • While further plot details can’t be spoiled, the opening sequence has Tarantino’s distinguished style of writing and visually, the Hollywood of 1977 is, in true Fincher style, gritty and dark.
    — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The win gave Houston its first 3-0 start since 2017-18, and spoiled Atlanta's home opener after the Hawks won their first two games of the season on the road.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of spoiled
Verb
  • Less common modes include vertical transmission (from mother to child) and transfusion transmission, when contaminated donor blood gives rise to an infection in the transfusion recipient.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Some have polluted rivers, destroyed forests or contaminated cenotes [sinkholes], and all struggle with guilt.
    — Anna Marie de la Fuente, Variety, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of contaminated

Browse Nearby Words

poison
poisoned
poisoning
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Cite this Entry

“Poisoned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poisoned. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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