Dictionary.net

anything that harms or destroys; "the poison of fascism"

any substance that causes injury or illness or death of a living organism

kill with poison; "She poisoned her husband"

kill by its poison; "This mushrooms can kill"

administer poison to; "She poisoned her husband but he did not die"

anything that harms or destroys; "the poison of fascism"

any substance that causes injury or illness or death of a living organism

administer poison to; "She poisoned her husband"

kill with poison; "She poisoned her husband"

kill by its poison; "This mushrooms can kill"

Any agent which, when introduced into the animal organism, is capable of producing a morbid, noxious, or deadly effect upon it; as, morphine is a deadly poison; the poison of pestilential diseases.

That which taints or destroys moral purity or health; as, the poison of evil example; the poison of sin.

To put poison upon or into; to infect with poison; as, to poison an arrow; to poison food or drink.

To injure or kill by poison; to administer poison to.

To taint; to corrupt; to vitiate; as, vice poisons happiness; slander poisoned his mind.

To act as, or convey, a poison.

Any agent which, when introduced into the animal organism, is capable of producing a morbid, noxious, or deadly effect upon it; as, morphine is a deadly poison; the poison of pestilential diseases.

That which taints or destroys moral purity or health; as, the poison of evil example; the poison of sin.

To put poison upon or into; to infect with poison; as, to poison an arrow; to poison food or drink.

To injure or kill by poison; to administer poison to.

To taint; to corrupt; to vitiate; as, vice poisons happiness; slander poisoned his mind.

To act as, or convey, a poison.

A substance which, if received into the body, destroys life or health; a destructive influence.

To injure or kill by poison; to fill or taint with poison; as, to poison food; to corrupt.

Any substance which, when taken into the body, is injurious to health or dangerous to life.

A substance which (except in minute doses) destroys life; valuable tonic in methodical minute doses.

To infect or to kill with poison: to taint: to mar: to embitter: to corrupt.

PORSONER.

A deadly, infectious, or noxious substance.

To infect, kill, or mingle, with poison; taint; embitter.

To put poison into; affect or kill with poison; injure; corrupt.

A substance that when taken into the system tends to cause death or serious injury.

That which is destructive or injurious to lire; that which taints or destroys moral purity or health.

To infect with anything fatal to life; to kill by poison; to taint or corrupt.

Any substance which, when swallowed, inhaled, or rubbed over the skin, injures the health or destroys life; venom; anything which taints moral purity.

A generic name for all substances which, when introduced into the animal economy, either by cutaneous absorption, respiration, or the digestive canal, act in a noxious manner on the vital properties or the texture of organs. Hence we speak of fever poison, cholera poison, &c. Poisons exist in the three kingdoms of nature; but those which proceed from animals are often called venoms, as the venom of the viper, scorpion, tarantula, &c.; whilst those that are the products of disease have the name vims. In common parlance, therefore, poison is restricted to deleterious articles, furnished by the mineral and vegetable kingdoms. Orfila has divided poisons into four classes. 1. ACRID, IR,RITATING, CORRO'SIVE, or ESCHAROT'IC, such as the concentrated acids and alkalies; mercurial, arseniacal, cupreous, and antimonial compounds, cantharides, &c. 2. NARCOT'IC; those that act particularly upon the brain; as hyoscyamus, opium, &c., but without inflaming the organ with which they come in contact. 3. NARCOT'ICO-ACRID or ACRO-NARCOT'IC ;-those that act on the brain, but, at the same time, irritate the parts to which they are applied; as aconite, belladonna, &c. 4. SEPTIC or PUTRES'CENT; - those furnished by the animal kingdom. See Venom and Virus. Various classifications, of a similar character, have been recommended by different toxicologists; but they are liable to the objection, that they throw substances together whose physiological action on the system is very different. It is, indeed, difficult to avoid unnatural compression of matters into places not properly belonging to them, in all such arrangements. The following table, which exhibits a coup d'oeil of the chief poisons, with most of the circumstances of importance connected with them, it not free from these objections. The most energetic poisons are used therapeutically, and often with considerable advantage. They have, of course, to be administered in extremely small doses, to avoid producing poisoning.

Any substance which when applied to the body, or ingested, causes disease.

The term has various shades of meaning dependent upon the relation in which it is employed. P. may be defined as a substance, organic or inorganic, originating in the organism or introduced from without, artificially or naturally formed-not organized, e. g., bacteria-which through its chemical nature under certain conditions so influences organs that the health or relative wellbeing is thereby injured, temporarily or permanently. List of poisons and their antidotes, see in appendix.

n. [Latin] Any substance which is noxious to life or health;—hence, that which taints or destroys moral purity; any thing infectious or malignant.