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toxicity

tok-SIS-ih-tee /tɑːkˈsɪs.ə.ti/

nounB2GREIELTSTOEFL

scientificenvironmentalgeneral

The degree to which a substance is poisonous or harmful to living organisms.

Measures chemical or biological harm; metaphorically describes toxic social or working environments.

The story behind the word. In ancient Greece, 'toxon' meant an archer's bow. Archers smeared deadly plant poisons onto their arrowheads, calling the paste 'toxikon pharmakon' ('bow potion'). Over centuries, the bow part was dropped, leaving 'toxic' to mean poison itself!

Word relationships

poisonousness: Poisonousness is everyday English; toxicity is the scientific and legal term.
harmfulness: Harmfulness is general, whereas toxicity specifies biochemical or poisonous damage.

nontoxicity: The quality of being harmless or safe to ingest/touch.
innocuousness: Harmlessness or lacking any harmful qualities.

Commonly confused with

hazard: A hazard is a potential source of harm; toxicity is the intrinsic poisonous property of a chemical substance.

Word family

toxic (adjective): Poisonous or harmful.
toxin (noun): A poison produced by living organisms or chemicals.
toxicology (noun): The study of poisons.

Collocations

chemical toxicity
acute toxicity
chronic toxicity
toxicity levels

Example sentences

"Tests confirmed high toxicity levels in water samples taken near the industrial discharge site." Toxicology report
"Residents demanded immediate testing to determine the chemical toxicity of the soil." Community advocacy statement

Memory hook

TOXIC = Archery poison shot from a bow. Degree of poisonous harm.

When not to use

Do not use to describe physical violence; it specifically refers to chemical harm or figurative poisonous influence.

Fun facts

The word 'toxic' was named Oxford Dictionaries' Word of the Year in 2018 due to its explosion in both environmental and social contexts.