poisonous

/ˈpɔɪzənəs/

//ˈpɔɪzənəs// adj

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

"poisonous" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“poisonous” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,586. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,586
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
12
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Containing sufficient poison to be dangerous to touch or ingest.

Corpus desk

Index EN-poisonous · poisonous · English

poisonous · rank #13,586 · 12 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,586
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pounding

Nearest frequency peer: pounding (+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 “poisonous”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “poisonous” 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
Key facts for poisonous
PropertyValue
Headwordpoisonous
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈpɔɪzənəs/
Letters9
Frequency rank#13,586
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “poisonous”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).poisonouslands 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 “pounding” (#13,587), “piercing” (#13,584), “pretended” (#13,588). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “poisonous” is #13,586. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around poisonous (IPA /ˈpɔɪzənəs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #13,586 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for poisonous, with forms such as "opisonous", "piosonous", and "poiosnous". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English poisounous, poysonouse. By surface analysis, poison + -ous. The correct English form is poisonous, spelled P-O-I-S-O-N-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Containing sufficient poison to be dangerous to touch or ingest.
  2. 2
    Of an animal such as a snake or spider, or parts of its body: producing a toxin intended for defensive or offensive use which is usually injected into an enemy or prey by biting or stinging; hence, of a bite or sting: injecting poison.
  3. 3
    Negative, harmful.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. While highly poisonous to dogs, this substance is completely harmless if ingested by humans.
  2. Nor taint-worm ſhall infect the yeaning herds / Nor penny-graſs, nor ſpearwort's poiſ'nous leaf.

Etymology

From Middle English poisounous, poysonouse. By surface analysis, poison + -ous.

This word in other languages

tóxico(Español)vénéneux(Français)giftig(Deutsch)tóxico(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • opisonous
  • piosonous
  • poiosnous
  • poisnoous
  • poisonnous
  • poisonosu
  • poisonouss
  • poisonuos
  • poisoonus
  • poissonous
  • posionous
  • ppoisonous

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of poisonous - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

opisonous2piosonous2poiosnous2poisnoous2poisonnous1poisonosu2poisonouss1poisonuos2
Edit distance from "poisonous"

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 "poisonous"?
"poisonous" is spelled P-O-I-S-O-N-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɔɪzənəs/.
What does "poisonous" mean?
As an adjective, "poisonous" means: Containing sufficient poison to be dangerous to touch or ingest.
What are common misspellings of "poisonous"?
Common misspellings include "opisonous", "piosonous", "poiosnous", "poisnoous", "poisonnous". The correct spelling is "poisonous".
How do you pronounce "poisonous"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "poisonous" is /ˈpɔɪzənəs/. 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 "poisonous"?
From Middle English poisounous, poysonouse. By surface analysis, poison + -ous. 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 "poisonous", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

pretended#13,588pathology#13,582parameter#13,580organizer#13,574

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

pounding12 variantspiercing12 variantsrosemary12 variantsshameful12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list