Standard Lemma guide

venom

adj · noun · verb · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈvɛnəm/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɛnəm
  • CMU ARPABET: V EH1 N AH0 M Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Poisonous, poisoned; (figuratively) pernicious.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable, obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

An animal toxin intended for defensive or offensive use; a biological poison delivered by bite, sting, etc., to protect an animal or to kill its prey.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Feeling or speech marked by spite or malice; vitriol.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, figuratively, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

To infect with venom; to envenom; to poison.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete, transitive

Examples

  • 1566, Thomas Blundeville (translator and editor), The Fower Chiefyst Offices Belongyng to Horsemanshippe, London, Chapter 36, [...] washe all the filth away with warme water, and annoynte the place with Hony and Fytch flower myngled together. But beware you touche none of the kirnelles with your bare finger, for feare of venoming the place, which is very apt for a Fistula to breede in.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

feeling a need to see others suffer

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: malice, maliciousness, spite, spitefulness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: malevolence, malignity

6

noun

Meaning 6

toxin secreted by animals; secreted by certain snakes and poisonous insects (e.g., spiders and scorpions)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: animal toxin, zootoxin

Narrower terms: kokoi venom, snake venom

History

Etymology

From Middle English venym, from Old French venim, from Vulgar Latin *venīmen, from Early Medieval Latin venīnum, from Classical Latin venēnum (“drug; poison; a charm”), ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *wenh1- (“to love”). Doublet of venin and venene.

Across languages

Translations

164 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: helm — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Albanian: vrer — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Chungli Ao: mim — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Arabic: سُمّ (summ) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Armenian: թույն (tʻuyn) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Aromanian: virin (roa-rup) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Aromanian: fãrmac — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Assamese: বিহ (bih) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Asturian: venenu — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Azerbaijani: zəhər — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Bashkir: ағыу (ağıw) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Basque: pozoi — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Belarusian: атру́та (atrúta) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Bengali: বিষ (biś) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Bengali: জহর (johor) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Bulgarian: отрова (otrova) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Burmese: အဆိပ် (a.hcip) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Catalan: verí — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Chamicuro: solima — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Chinese Mandarin: 毒液 (dúyè) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Chinese Mandarin: 毒 (dú) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Czech: jed — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Danish: gift — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Dutch: gif — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Dutch: venijn — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Esperanto: veneno — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Estonian: mürk — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Finnish: myrkky — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • French: venin — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Friulian: velen — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Galician: veleno — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Galician: pezoña — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Galician: pezoia — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Georgian: შხამი (šxami) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • German: Gift — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Greek: δηλητήριο (dilitírio) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Gujarati: વિષ (viṣ) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Hebrew: אֶרֶס (éres) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Hindi: ज़हर (zahar) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Hindi: विष (viṣ) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Hungarian: méreg — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Ido: veneno — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Indonesian: bisa — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Interlingua: veneno — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Iquito: ihuɨ'ɨrɨsana — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Irish: nimh — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Italian: veleno — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Japanese: 毒 (doku) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Japanese: 毒液 (dokueki) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Kannada: ವಿಷ (viṣa) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Kazakh: у (u) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Kazakh: зәр (zär) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Kazakh: заһар (zahar) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Khmer: ពិស (pɨh) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Korean: 독 (dok) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Korean: 독액 (dogaek) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Northern Kurdish: jehr — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Kyrgyz: уу (uu) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Lao: ພິດ (phit) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Latin: virus venenum — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Latvian: inde — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Lithuanian: nuodai — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Macedonian: јад (jad) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Macedonian: о́тров (ótrov) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Malay: bisa — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Malayalam: വിഷം (viṣaṁ) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Manx: nieu — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Māori: hūare-ngau-kino — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Māori: paitini — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Marathi: विष (viṣ) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Mongolian: хор (xor) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Mongolian: ᠬᠣᠷᠤ (qoru) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Nepali: जहर (jahar) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Nepali: विष (viṣ) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Norwegian Bokmål: gift — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Occitan: verin — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Odia: ବିଷ (biṣa) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Old East Slavic: ядъ (jadŭ) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Old English: ātor — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Old Norse: eitr — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Pali: visa — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Pashto: زهر (zahr) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Persian: زهر (zahr) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Polish: jad — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Portuguese: peçonha — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Portuguese: veneno — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Punjabi: ਜ਼ਹਿਰ (zahir) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Romanian: venin — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Russian: яд (jad) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Sanskrit: विष (viṣá) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Sardinian: belenu — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Sardinian: benenu — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Sardinian: velenu — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Scottish Gaelic: puinnsean — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Scottish Gaelic: nimh — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Serbo-Croatian: о̀тров — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Serbo-Croatian: зе̏хер — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Serbo-Croatian: òtrov — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Serbo-Croatian: zȅher — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Sinhalese: විෂ (wiṣa) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Slovak: jed — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Slovene: strup — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Upper Sorbian: jěd — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Spanish: veneno — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Spanish: tósigo — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Swedish: gift — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Swedish: etter — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Tagalog: kamandag — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Tajik: заҳр (zahr) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Tamil: விஷம் (viṣam) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Tatar: агу (ağu) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Telugu: విషము (viṣamu) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Thai: พิษ (pít) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Tibetan: སྦྲུལ་སོའི་དུག་ཆུ (sbrul so'i dug chu) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Turkish: zehir — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Turkish: ağı — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Ottoman Turkish: اغو (ağu) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Ottoman Turkish: زهر (zehr) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Ottoman Turkish: سم (sem) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Turkmen: zäher — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Ukrainian: отру́та (otrúta) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Ukrainian: отру́я (otrúja) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Urdu: زہر (zahar) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Uyghur: زەھەر (zeher) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Uzbek: zahar — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Vietnamese: nọc độc — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Vietnamese: nọc — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Volapük: venen — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Volapük: venod — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Volapük: venom — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Welsh: gwenwyn — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Yiddish: גיפֿט (gift) — an animal toxin intended for offensive use
  • Belarusian: злосць (zloscʹ) — (figurative) malice
  • Belarusian: злосьць (zlosʹcʹ) — (figurative) malice
  • Belarusian: злаба́ (zlabá) — (figurative) malice
  • Bulgarian: зло́ба (zlóba) — (figurative) malice
  • Catalan: malvolença — (figurative) malice
  • Finnish: katkeruus — (figurative) malice
  • Finnish: ilkeys — (figurative) malice
  • Finnish: pahansuopuus — (figurative) malice
  • French: venin — (figurative) malice
  • Galician: veleno — (figurative) malice
  • Georgian: ბოროტება (boroṭeba) — (figurative) malice
  • Georgian: ღვარძლი (ɣvarʒli) — (figurative) malice
  • Georgian: სიბოროტე (siboroṭe) — (figurative) malice
  • German: Gift — (figurative) malice
  • German: Galle — (figurative) malice
  • Irish: aicis — (figurative) malice
  • Kazakh: заһар (zahar) — (figurative) malice
  • Macedonian: зло́ба (zlóba) — (figurative) malice
  • Polish: złośliwość — (figurative) malice
  • Portuguese: veneno — (figurative) malice
  • Romanian: venin — (figurative) malice
  • Romanian: fiere — (figurative) malice
  • Russian: зло́ба (zlóba) — (figurative) malice
  • Russian: злость (zlostʹ) — (figurative) malice
  • Scottish Gaelic: nimh — (figurative) malice
  • Serbo-Croatian: зло̀ба — (figurative) malice
  • Serbo-Croatian: zlòba — (figurative) malice
  • Spanish: malicia — (figurative) malice
  • Turkish: zehir — (figurative) malice
  • Ukrainian: злість (zlistʹ) — (figurative) malice
  • Ukrainian: злоба́ (zlobá) — (figurative) malice
  • Ukrainian: зло́ба (zlóba) — (figurative) malice
Real reading context

venom in complete knowledge articles