toxic

CEFRB1

/ˈtɒk.sɪk/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Containing poison or causing serious harm to health.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Very unpleasant or harmful in relationships or situations.

Examples

  • Lobster tomalley can be toxic and it's best not to eat it.

  • The material is not toxic in itself.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
4
Synonyms
2

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Appearing grossly unwell; characterised by serious, potentially life-threatening compromise in the respiratory, circulatory or other body systems.

  2. Severely negative or harmful.

  3. Having a chemical nature that is harmful to health or lethal if consumed or otherwise entering into the body in sufficient quantities.

More examples

In context

  • Too much toxic waste is being dumped at sea.

  • The child appeared toxic on arrival at the hospital.

  • Tobacco smoke contains many toxic substances.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The chemical spill released a blank gas that poisoned the nearby river.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

Borrowed from French toxique, from Late Latin toxicus (“poisoned”), from Latin toxicum (“poison”), from Ancient Greek τοξικόν (toxikón) [φάρμακον (phármakon)] ("poison for use on arrows"), from τοξικός (toxikós, “pertaining to arrows or archery”), from τόξον (tóxon, “bow”).