toxic
Americanadjective
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of, pertaining to, affected with, or caused by a toxin or poison.
a toxic condition.
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acting as or having the effect of a poison; poisonous.
a toxic drug.
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causing unpleasant feelings; harmful or malicious: toxic criticism.
a toxic boyfriend who wanted complete control over her;
toxic criticism.
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Finance.
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pertaining to or noting debt that will probably not be repaid.
toxic mortgages.
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pertaining to or noting a financial instrument or other asset that has no value or an unknown value because there is no market for it.
toxic mortgage-backed securities.
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noun
adjective
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of, relating to, or caused by a toxin or poison; poisonous
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harmful or deadly
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(of a financial asset) likely to cause significant loss to the holder
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Relating to or caused by a toxin.
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Capable of causing injury or death, especially by chemical means; poisonous.
Other Word Forms
- hypertoxic adjective
- nontoxic adjective
- nontoxically adverb
- posttoxic adjective
- toxically adverb
- untoxic adjective
- untoxically adverb
Etymology
Origin of toxic
First recorded in 1655–65; from Late Latin toxicus “poisonous,” derivative of toxicum “poison,” from Greek toxikón (for toxikòn phármakon literally, “bow poison,” i.e., poison used on arrows), equivalent to tóx(on) “bow” + -ikon, neuter of -ikos adjective suffix; -ic
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“I would like us to use the least toxic alternative possible, wherever possible,” Foley said in an interview.
From Los Angeles Times
Flooding can trigger sewage releases into rivers and estuaries, threatening wildlife with disease and toxic water, "exaggerating the number of wildlife death events".
From BBC
"It's quite easy to make a version of that story where he's a sort of toxic incel male conspiracy theorist nut who you don't really sympathize with," he told AFP.
From Barron's
But his history of public controversy stretches back to at least 1991, when a memo he wrote while serving as the World Bank’s chief economist appeared to justify sending toxic waste to poorer countries.
From Salon
The AG accused the company of adding “toxic dyes” to its products.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
