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Toxic

Poisonous; capable of causing harm to living beings. It is also used figuratively to describe something harmful, destructive, or dangerous in a non-physical sense (for example, a toxic relationship).

adjective

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Imagine This

Imagine stepping into a lab where a bright neon-green gas escapes from a sealed vial. A bright yellow warning sign says Toxic, and you picture the air itself as dangerous; you quickly put on a mask to protect yourself.

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Sounds Like

TOK-sik

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Looks Like

Looks like the word 'toxin' and shares the root 'tox-' meaning poison.

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Remember This

The root 'tox-' means poison. Toxic is related to toxin, toxinology, and toxicology; the term has both literal and figurative uses.

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Other Forms

toxicitynoun

toxicantnoun

toxicologynoun

toxicallyadverb

toxifyverb

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Connect With

poison, toxin, toxicology, hazardous, noxious

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Note

Use 'toxic' for substances or environments that cause harm; use 'poisonous' for things that cause harm when touched or ingested. In figurative use, 'toxic' describes harmful people or atmospheres (e.g., a toxic relationship). The adverb form is 'toxically' and the noun forms include 'toxicity' and 'toxicant'.

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Study Deeper

Examples

The pesticide is highly toxic and must be handled with gloves.
Prolonged exposure to toxic fumes can cause dizziness and nausea.

Synonyms

poisonousharmfuldeleterioushazardousnoxious

Antonyms

harmlessbenigninnocuous

Etymology

From Greek toxikos 'poisonous' via Latin toxicus, related to toxin; the root 'tox-' means poison.

Mnemonic

TOXIC = TOXIN with the suffix -IC. Remember that 'tox-' is the poison root, and adding '-ic' forms an adjective: something that is toxic is poisonous.