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| poi·son [ póyz'n ] |
noun (plural poi·sons) |
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1. toxic substance: a substance that causes illness, injury, or death if taken into the body or produced within the body
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2. negative influence: something that exercises a powerful destructive or corrupting force, especially in an insidious way
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3. chemistry reaction-inhibiting substance: a substance that inhibits a chemical reaction or diminishes the activity of a catalyst
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4. nuclear physics substance slowing nuclear reaction: a substance in a nuclear reactor that can absorb neutrons without undergoing fission and therefore slows down the reaction
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transitive verb (past and past participle poi·soned, present participle poi·son·ing, 3rd person present singular poi·sons) |
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| Definition: |
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1. give poison to somebody: to administer poison to a person or animal, especially with malicious intention
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2. harm somebody with toxic substance: to cause illness, injury, or death to somebody with a poison or other harmful chemical substance
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3. add poison to something: to put poison into or onto something in order to harm or kill a person or animal
  poisoned bait used to kill rats
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4. pollute environment: to pollute water, land, or air severely with a harmful substance
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5. corrupt or undermine somebody or something: to have an evil or corrupting influence on somebody or something, especially by planting hostility or suspicion in somebody's mind against another person
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6. spoil situation: to spoil something that should be pleasant, enjoyable, or friendly
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7. chemistry inhibit chemical reaction: to inhibit a chemical reaction or activity
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8. nuclear physics slow down nuclear reaction: to slow down or stop a nuclear reaction by the addition of a substance that can absorb neutrons without undergoing fission
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| [13th century. Via Old French< Latin potion-< potare "to drink"] |
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| poi·son·er noun |
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what's your poison? used to ask what somebody would like to drink (informal humorous)
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