iBet uBet web content aggregator. Adding the entire web to your favor.
iBet uBet web content aggregator. Adding the entire web to your favor.



Link to original content: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toxicity
Toxicity Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

toxicity

noun

tox·​ic·​i·​ty täk-ˈsi-sə-tē How to pronounce toxicity (audio)
plural toxicities
: the quality or state of being toxic: such as
a
: the quality, state, or relative degree of being poisonous
measuring the toxicity level of the soil
The toxicity of some chemical agents degrades significantly over time, so it is unclear how lethal the stockpiles are.David S. Cloud
Administering a cocktail of drugs would dilute the toxicities of the different drugs and minimize the development of viral resistance to them.Rudy M. Baum and Ron Dagani
b
: an extremely harsh, malicious, or harmful quality
In the past few days, I've tuned in to C-SPAN to watch a number of the televised Senate debates, which illustrate all too vividly the toxicity of an uncivil tongue.Connie Schultz
In much of the ensuing commentary, court watchers worried that the justices' soaring rates of written dissents, nasty and personal attacks and scathing remarks read aloud from the bench bespeak a new toxicity in Supreme Court discourse.Dahlia Lithwick

Did you know?

Toxicity is often a relative thing; in the words of a famous old saying, "The dose makes the poison". Thus, it's possible to die from drinking too much water, and lives have been saved by tiny doses of arsenic. Even though botulinum toxin is the most toxic substance known, it's the basic ingredient in Botox, which is injected into the face to get rid of wrinkles. With some poisons, mere skin contact can be lethal; others are lethal when breathed into the lungs in microscopic amounts. To determine if a chemical will be officially called a poison, researchers often use the "LD50" test: If 50 milligrams of the substance for every kilogram of an animal's body weight results in the death of 50% of test animals, the chemical is a poison. But there are problems with such tests, and toxicity remains a very individual concept.

Examples of toxicity in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
While the toxicity of chloronitramide anion is still unknown, the researchers expressed alarm about both its prevalence and its similarities to other problematic substances. Sharon Udasin, The Hill, 21 Nov. 2024 Acute oral toxicity of capsaicin in mice and rats Ohio State University. Amiah Taylor, Discover Magazine, 13 Nov. 2024 If a patient develops toxicity to 5-FU or capecitabine, and it is recognized immediately, an antidote called uridine triacetate can be administered (at a total cost of >$180,000 USD for medication and care). Ellen Matloff, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024 Symptoms of magnesium toxicity may include nausea, vomiting, low blood pressure, and depression. Johna Burdeos, Health, 28 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for toxicity 

Word History

First Known Use

1873, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of toxicity was in 1873

Dictionary Entries Near toxicity

Cite this Entry

“Toxicity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toxicity. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.

Medical Definition

toxicity

noun
tox·​ic·​i·​ty täk-ˈsis-ət-ē How to pronounce toxicity (audio)
plural toxicities
: the quality, state, or relative degree of being toxic or poisonous

More from Merriam-Webster on toxicity

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!