toxicity

UK/tɒkˈsɪs.ə.ti/US/tɑkˈsɪs.ə.ti/

nounC1Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #10,824 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: toxicities

Toxicity is how poisonous something is. Low toxicity, test for toxicity, toxicity levels.

It is measured rather than assumed, and the measure is always a dose: everything is toxic at some quantity and nothing at none, which is the oldest principle in the field. The word has also been borrowed for social behaviour, as in a toxic workplace.

Definitions of toxicity

1nountoxicityHow poisonous something is.C1
“Scientists are testing the toxicity of the new pesticide to bees.”

toxicity is a measure.

Where it comes from

French
toxique
English
toxic
English, today
toxicity

Built from

τοξικός · Ancient Greek — pertaining to arrows or archery
τόξον · Ancient Greek — bow

From toxic + -ity. toxic Borrowed from French toxique. Borrowed from French toxique, from Latin toxicus (“poisoned”), from Latin toxicum (“poison”), from Ancient Greek τοξικόν [φάρμακον] ("poison for use on arrows"), from τοξικός (“pertaining to arrows or archery”), from τόξον (“bow”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

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toxicity in the wild

Oxygen toxicity is a condition resulting from the harmful effects of breathing molecular oxygen (O2) at increased partial pressures.
Oxygen toxicity
Central nervous system toxicity is caused by short exposure to high partial pressures of oxygen at greater than atmospheric pressure.
Oxygen toxicity
Acute toxicity describes the adverse effects of a substance that result either from a single exposure or from multiple exposures in a short period of time.
Acute toxicity
To be described as acute toxicity, the adverse effects should occur within 14 days of the administration of the substance.
Acute toxicity
Treatment of severe toxicity is with digoxin-specific antibody fragments.
Digoxin toxicity

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the toxique family

toxic

toxicity — used about once every 7,127 pages · #10,824 · point at the bar for the others

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