poison

/ˈpɔɪ.zən/

//ˈpɔɪ.zən// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"poison" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“poison” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,282. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,282
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
12
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A substance that is harmful or lethal to a living organism when ingested.

Corpus desk

Index EN-poison · poison · English

poison · rank #6,282 · 7 variants · 12 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,282
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 12 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pockets

Nearest frequency peer: pockets (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “poison”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “poison” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

poison vs poon
67% similar
poison vs prison
83% similar
poison vs potion
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for poison
PropertyValue
Headwordpoison
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɔɪ.zən/
Letters6
Frequency rank#6,282
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs12
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “poison”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).poisonlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “pockets” (#6,281), “predict” (#6,283), “pets” (#6,280). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “poison” is #6,282. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around poison (IPA /ˈpɔɪ.zən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #6,282 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for poison, with forms such as "opison", "pioson", and "poiosn". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 12 confusable-pair relationships, "poon", "prison", "potion", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English poysoun, poyson, pusoun, from Old French poison, poisun, from Latin pōtiōnem (“drink, a draught, a poisonous draught, a potion”), from pōtō (“I drink”). See also potion and potable (from the same root). Mostly displaced native Old Englis… The correct English form is poison, spelled P-O-I-S-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A substance that is harmful or lethal to a living organism when ingested.
  2. 2
    Anything harmful to a person or thing.
  3. 3
    An alcoholic drink. (Mainly in the phrases "name your poison" and "what's your poison?")
  4. 4
    Any substance that inhibits catalytic activity.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how poison appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Near-synonym: (loosely) venom
  2. We used a poison to kill the weeds.

Etymology

From Middle English poysoun, poyson, pusoun, from Old French poison, poisun, from Latin pōtiōnem (“drink, a draught, a poisonous draught, a potion”), from pōtō (“I drink”). See also potion and potable (from the same root). Mostly displaced native Old English ātor. See more at atter.

This word in other languages

veneno(Español)poison(Français)Gift(Deutsch)veneno(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • opison
  • pioson
  • poiosn
  • poisno
  • poisonn
  • posion
  • ppoison

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of poison - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

opison2pioson2poiosn2poisno2poisonn1posion2ppoison1
Edit distance from "poison"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "poison"?
"poison" is spelled P-O-I-S-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɔɪ.zən/.
What does "poison" mean?
As a noun, "poison" means: A substance that is harmful or lethal to a living organism when ingested.
What words are commonly confused with "poison"?
"poison" is commonly confused with "poon", "prison", "potion". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "poison"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "poison" is /ˈpɔɪ.zən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "poison"?
From Middle English poysoun, poyson, pusoun, from Old French poison, poisun, from Latin pōtiōnem (“drink, a draught, a poisonous draught, a potion”), from pōtō (“I drink”). See also potion and potable (from the same root). Mostly displaced native ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "poison", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

pastor#6,277prints#6,287subtle#6,301layout#6,262

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

rebel7 variantsmyth7 variantsmicro7 variantsmerit7 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list