toxic
toxic Lexical Profile
toxic Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Containing or being a poisonous material capable of causing death, severe illness, or physical harm to living organisms.
"The factory was fined heavily for dumping toxic waste into the nearby river."
Extremely unpleasant, malicious, or emotionally harmful in a way that drains energy or damages relationships.
"She decided to resign from the company because the workplace culture had become unbearable and toxic."
Relating to high-risk, non-performing financial assets or debts that have lost their value and have no functioning market.
"During the financial crisis, major banks struggled to offload billions of dollars in toxic debts."
• noun
A poisonous substance or chemical pollutant (usually used in the plural).
"New environmental regulations aim to reduce the release of industrial toxics into local waterways."
Word Nuance & Usage
In biology and chemistry, 'toxic' is the broad term for any substance harmful to organisms, whereas 'venomous' specifically describes organisms that inject toxins via a bite or sting, and 'poisonous' describes those that cause harm when ingested or touched.
• Rhymes for toxic
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the mid-17th century from Medieval Latin toxicus ('poisoned'), from Latin toxicum ('poison'), which derived from Ancient Greek toxikon pharmakon ('poison for arrows'), from toxon ('bow').