toxicant

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɒksɪkənt/

• Audio (Southern England)

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Adjective

toxicant (comparative more toxicant, superlative most toxicant)

1. Capable of causing damage or dysfunction by toxicity; (broadly) poisonous.

Noun

toxicant (plural toxicants)

1. A toxic or poisonous substance.

Usage notes

A toxicant is sometimes differentiated from a toxin in that a toxicant is any substance that is toxic (including all toxins) whereas toxins are only those that are naturally occurring. The concepts of toxicity and intoxication are inherently related biochemically, and unsurprisingly, their names are related etymologically. The biochemical relation is well exemplified by ethanol, which is both an intoxicant and a toxicant.

Derived terms

• cardiotoxicant
• intoxicant