toxicity
tok-SIS-uh-tee
/tɑːkˈsɪsəti/
The degree to which a substance can damage or poison an organism, tissue, organ, or cellular structure.
In pharmacology, toxicity can be dose-dependent; even therapeutic substances can display cellular toxicity at excessive concentrations.
The story behind the word. Traced to Ancient Greek 'toxikon pharmakon', meaning 'poison used on arrowheads' (from 'toxon', bow). Late Latin adopted 'toxicus', which entered Middle English to describe substances that harm or destroy living cells.
Word relationships
- poisonousness: Poisonousness is a general term, whereas toxicity is a scientific quantitative measure of biological damage potential.
- nontoxicity: The state of being harmless or non-poisonous to living tissue.
- safety: The quality of being free from danger, risk, or injury.
Commonly confused with
- adverse effect: Adverse effect refers to any unwanted clinical side effect, while toxicity specifically denotes destructive or poisonous tissue damage.
Word family
- toxic (adjective): Poisonous or causing organic damage.
- toxicant (noun): A toxic substance introduced into the environment.
- toxicology (noun): The branch of science concerned with poisons and toxic effects.
Collocations
- acute toxicity
- chronic toxicity
- organ toxicity
- dose-limiting toxicity
- reduce toxicity
Example sentences
- "The primary goal of dose-escalation studies is to identify dose-limiting toxicity in clinical trial participants." Oncology
- "Organ-specific toxicity, particularly hepatic and renal toxicity, must be monitored throughout chronic treatment." Toxicology Science
Memory hook
TOXIC = POISON. Toxicity is the scale measuring how poisonous something is. Toxicity = Level of poison and organ harm.
When not to use
Avoid using 'toxicity' in clinical formal writing to describe mild interpersonal friction unless using it in a recognized psychological sense.
Fun facts
- Paracelsus, the father of toxicology, famously wrote in the 16th century: 'All things are poison, and nothing is without poison; the dosage alone makes it so.'
Related words
Explore more words
toxic, pollutant, bioaccumulate, hazard, necrosis, susceptibility
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