The difference between Contaminate and Poison
When used as verbs, contaminate means to make something dangerous or toxic by introducing impurities or foreign matter, whereas poison means to use poison to kill or paralyse somebody.
Poison is also noun with the meaning: a substance that is harmful or lethal to a living organism.
check bellow for the other definitions of Contaminate and Poison
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Contaminate as a verb (transitive):
To make something dangerous or toxic by introducing impurities or foreign matter.
Examples:
"This water is contaminated. It isn't safe to drink."
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Contaminate as a verb (transitive):
To soil, stain, corrupt, or infect by contact or association.
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Contaminate as a verb (transitive):
To make unfit for use by the introduction of unwholesome or undesirable elements.
Examples:
"Do not contaminate the peanut butter with the jelly."
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Contaminate as a verb:
To infect, often with bad objects
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Poison as a noun:
A substance that is harmful or lethal to a living organism.
Examples:
"We used a poison to kill the weeds."
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Poison as a noun:
Something that harms a person or thing.
Examples:
"Gossip is a malicious poison."
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Poison as a noun (informal):
A drink; liquor.
Examples:
"— What's your poison?"
"— I'll have a glass of whisky."
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Poison as a verb (transitive):
To use poison to kill or paralyse somebody
Examples:
"The assassin poisoned the king."
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Poison as a verb (transitive):
To pollute; to cause some part of the environment to become poisonous
Examples:
"That factory is poisoning the river."
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Poison as a verb (transitive):
To cause something to become much worse
Examples:
"Suspicion will poison their relationship."
"He poisoned the mood in the room with his non-stop criticism."
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Poison as a verb (transitive):
To cause someone to hate or to have unfair negative opinions
Examples:
"She's poisoned him against all his old friends."