Poisoning and intoxication
Hello. I'd like to ask about the differences between these words. I think with Alcohol you can both say Alcohol poisoning and Alcohol intoxication, but I'm not even sure if it is 100% the same thing. I've read an article once about the difference between venom and poison, but is just anything a toxin? And are toxins and toxicants the same thing?
And I've also heard about the idiom "What's your poison?" to ask a person what they prefer as a drink. What is an appropriate response? Would you just say something like "I'd like a beer."? Thanks.
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Answers · 4
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Haha, yes you just reminded me why English is such a crazy language. I'm glad I don't have to learn it!
To answer your questions on venom, poison and toxin, I would say:
- venom almost always comes from an animal (think snake's venom), though venom in a figurative sense could mean hurtful words (e.g. I can't believe the venom that comes from our politicians these days).
- poison is a harmful / deadly substance, e.g. arsenic is a poison.
- toxin is more a component of another substance that has harmful properties, e.g. X is a toxin found in Y.
- toxicant strikes me as a very scientific word, and I would probably not use that word unless I was a qualifed chemist or chemical engineer.
But that is just my overall thoughts as a native speaker. I am sure a good English dictionary will describe the full shades of meaning of each of those words.
By the way Jakob - your written English is very good. But you shouldn't spell alcohol with a capital A. It's not a proper noun. Good luck with your English learning, you seem very advanced.
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Hi Jakob, alcohol poisoning is when someone has drunk too much and is very sick because of the amount they drank and their body has been poisoned from the alcohol. Whereas alcohol intoxication means that someone drank a lot and is probably drunk.
You are correct in the second paragraph, "I'd like a beer" is a good answer.
Hope that helps!
Sinead
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