Grammar 101: Poisonous and Venomous
April 7th, 2011 by Michael Kwan
Take poisonous and venomous as a prime example. Both of them seem to indicate that plant or animal has some kind of poison that is harmful and potentially lethal. That’s true, but there is a critical distinction between these two words.
Something that is poisonous contains some sort of poison that is administered passively. There are certain frogs in the rainforest, for instance, where their skin is coated in a poison. If you don’t touch, eat, or lick these frogs, you’re relatively safe. Similarly, there are fruits and other plants that are poisonous only when digested.
By contrast, something that is venomous contains poison that is administered more actively. A king cobra snake, as an example, is venomous, because it administers its toxin (venom) by biting you. A range of insects are similarly venomous, perhaps administering their toxin by a sting rather than a bite.
Just like how less and fewer have similar meanings, poisonous and venomous are not to be used interchangeably in the context of the plant and animal kingdom. When referring colloquially to a situation or a person, though, the meaning can be almost one and the same.
Tags: grammar, grammar tips, word choice
Filed under Freelance Writing.
I think that because the 2 words are adjectives and that venom, the noun is poisonous fluid from animals is where a lot of the problem comes from in confusing the two also. Seeing how venom kinda looks like it is a derivative of Poison could also be confusing.
The big difference as you explain is the active intent of venomous and the passive poisonous.
Ya sure it’s some typical part of grammar! Some time ofen confused words make much problem in mind. like except, accept, ascent. So many….
good post, I prefer using synonyms and not repeating the same word. It’s better to write synonyms to not confuse people.
[...] especially when two words appear to be quite similar in spelling and in meaning. While words like poisonous and venomous have distinctly different meanings, sympathy and empathy can be much more easily [...]
[...] seemingly similar meanings, but this does not mean that you can use these words interchangeably. Venomous and poisonous do not have the same definition, so it’s important to know which word to use [...]