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Glite Dictionary
to poison your relationships

to poison your relationships

7.6
Make people feel hurt, angry, or not trust you
  • idiom
translation icon : envenenar tus relaciones
  • It's important to communicate openly, or you may unintentionally poison your relationships.

Examples

  • Holding grudges will only poison your relationships in the long run.

  • Gossip and mistrust can poison your relationships with friends and colleagues.

  • Don't poison your relationships with negativity!

  • He tends to poison his relationships by being overly critical.

  • Constantly criticizing your partner can poison your relationships over time.

  • If you spread rumors about your friends, you will poison your relationships with them.

  • Neglecting to communicate can poison your relationships and lead to misunderstandings.

Synonyms

to poison
vsto poison your relationships
97 4.4

To damage a relationship or group by spreading bad ideas

focuses on harming personal bonds rather than general corruption
to sully
vsto poison your relationships
13 7.6

Make someone's good name seem bad

hurts close relationships over time by causing distrust or resentment
to toxify
vsto poison your relationships
8.0

To make a relationship or situation harmful and unpleasant

damages bonds gradually by creating negative feelings or behaviour

Antonyms

to nurture
155 3.5

To care for and encourage someone or something to grow

to bond
149 2.9

To form a close relationship with someone

How Damaging

to poison your relationships
7.6
to strain
67 3.9

Surface Forms

poison your relationships infinitive
poisoned your relationships past
poisoned your relationships past participle
poisoning your relationships present participle
poisons your relationships third person singular

Morphology

poison + your + relationship

The sense ‘to harm or damage your relationships’ is directly derivable from applying the known verb 'poison' (to corrupt or spoil) to 'relationships' — the meaning is a straightforward figurative extension of the literal parts. This toxic-as-harm metaphor is common across languages and in English usage, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would very likely infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

Poison your relationships gives a clear image: imagine putting a little poison into a friend's cup or into a conversation, so the relationships slowly become sick and weak. That's why it means 'to harm or damage your relationships'.