poison(POY zin) n. 1. a substance that causes illness or death when eaten,
drunk, or otherwise absorbed by the body; 2. anything destructive physically,
emotionally, etc. —vt.1. to give poison to; harm or destroy by means of poison;
- to corrupt
- A cobra’s venom is one of the most powerful poisonsin the animal world.
- Propaganda is a poisonthat the Nazis and the Soviets were adroit at using
in the middle of the last century. - Various pesticides are used to poisonundesirable rodents.
- Stereotyping certain ethnic groups can poisonthe attitudes of the impres-
sionable toward them.
[-ed, -ing]
polar (POH lir) adj. 1. of, relating to, or near the South or North Pole; 2. of a
pole; 3. having polarity; 4. opposite in nature or function - The earth is not the only planet to have polarice caps.
- Magnets are polar,with unlike ones attracting and like ones repelling each
other. - When installing batteries in a radio, you must pay attention to their polar
alignment. - Optimists’ and pessimists’ philosophies are at polarextremes of the
spectrum.
political(puh LI ti kl) adj. 1. of or about, politics, government, country, state;
- relating to a definite governmental organization; 3. taking sides in political
parties- Politicalleaders are elected in some countries, appointed in others, and
seize power by force in still others. - The secretaries of the cabinet are politicalappointees of the president but
must be approved by the Senate. - Many votes in the legislatures are governed by politicalconsiderations.
[-ly adv.]
politician (pah li TISH in) n. 1. a person actively engaged in politics, often
used derisively to mean scheming, after personal gain, etc.; 2. one particularly
skilled in politics - Politiciansas a group do not enjoy a particularly good reputation, as they’re
reputed to scheme in the back room. - Lyndon Johnson was a particularly skilled politician,who knew how to play
the game to his best advantage.
pollution(puh LOO shin) n. 1. the result of defiling; making impure, corrupt,
or dirty; 2. contamination with waste materials - Industrial pollutionhas been considerably abated in California as a result of
very strong environmental legislation. - Air and water pollutionare probably the two forms of contamination most
in the public eye.
[Syn. contamination]
- Politicalleaders are elected in some countries, appointed in others, and
184 Essential Vocabulary