POISONING

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does poisoning mean? 

• POISONING (noun)
  The noun POISONING has 2 senses:

1. the physiological state produced by a poison or other toxic substance

2. the act of giving poison to a person or animal with the intent to kill

  Familiarity information: POISONING used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• POISONING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The physiological state produced by a poison or other toxic substance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

intoxication; poisoning; toxic condition

Hypernyms ("poisoning" is a kind of...):

physical condition; physiological condition; physiological state (the condition or state of the body or bodily functions)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "poisoning"):

alkali poisoning (poisoning resulting from the ingestion of an alkali compound (as lye or ammonia))

caffeine intoxication; caffeinism (poisoning resulting from excessive intake of caffeine containing products)

carbon monoxide poisoning (a toxic condition that results from inhaling and absorbing carbon monoxide gas)

cyanide poisoning (poisoning due to ingesting or inhaling cyanide; common in smoke from fires and in industrial chemicals)

ergotism (poisoning by ingestion of ergot-infected grain products; characterized by thirst and diarrhea and nausea and cramping and vomiting and abnormal cardiac rhythms; in severe cases it can cause seizures and gangrene of the limbs)

mercury poisoning (a toxic condition caused by ingesting or inhaling mercury; acute mercury poisoning causes a metallic taste and vomiting and diarrhea and kidney problems that may lead to death)

naphthalene poisoning (toxic condition resulting from inhaling or ingesting naphthalene)

nicotine poisoning (toxic condition caused by the ingestion or inhalation of large amounts of nicotine)

ophidism (poisoning by snake venom)

paraquat poisoning (poisoning caused by ingestion of paraquat; characterized by progressive damage to the esophagus and liver and kidneys)

pesticide poisoning (toxic condition resulting from ingesting or inhaling a pesticide)

salicylate poisoning (poisoning caused by the excessive ingestion of salicylates (usually aspirin))

Sense 2

Meaning:

The act of giving poison to a person or animal with the intent to kill

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("poisoning" is a kind of...):

kill; killing; putting to death (the act of terminating a life)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "poisoning"):

gassing (the deliberate act of poisoning some person or animal with gas)

Derivation:

poison (administer poison to)

poison (add poison to)

poison (kill with poison)

 Context examples 

This association between taste and symptoms of poisoning also arises even if the stomach upset occurs several hours after having eaten.

(Researchers identify area of the amygdala involved in taste aversion, University of Granada)

A class of disorders that encompasses conditions resulting from an injury, poisoning or procedure.

(Injury, Poisoning and Procedural Complication Class, NCI Thesaurus)

Taking too many iron supplements can cause iron poisoning.

(Iron, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Surely that they have done her to death in some way which has deceived the doctor and simulated a natural end—poisoning, perhaps.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It is often hard to tell if someone has CO poisoning, because the symptoms may be like those of other illnesses.

(Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Also called acute radiation syndrome, radiation poisoning, radiation sickness, and radiation sickness syndrome.

(Acute radiation sickness, NCI Dictionary)

Causes include drug abuse, poisoning, infectious processes, and fluid and electrolyte imbalance.

(Delirium, NCI Thesaurus)

Being then in a pleasant frame of mind (from which I infer that poisoning is not always disagreeable in some stages of the process), I resolved to go to the play.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

This syndrome is observed in patients who demonstrate a state of generalized leaky capillaries following shock syndromes, low-flow states, ischemia-reperfusion injuries, toxemias, medications, or poisoning.

(Capillary leak syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)

To help avoid food poisoning and prevent infection, handle food safely.

(E. Coli Infections, NIH: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)