toxic

 
Pronunciation: /ˈtɒksɪk/

adjective

  • 1poisonous: the dumping of toxic waste alcohol is toxic to the ovaries
  • relating to or caused by poison: toxic hazards toxic liver injury
  • very bad, unpleasant, or harmful: a toxic relationship
  • 2 Finance denoting or relating to debt which has a high risk of default: toxic debts
  • denoting securities which are based on toxic debt and for which there is not a healthy or functioning market: the financial system has become clogged with toxic assets

noun

(toxics)
  • poisonous substances.

Derivatives

toxically

adverb

toxicity

Pronunciation: /-ˈsɪsɪti/
noun

Origin:

mid 17th century: from medieval Latin toxicus 'poisoned', from Latin toxicum 'poison', from Greek toxikon (pharmakon) '(poison for) arrows', from toxon 'bow'

Word Trends

The financial sense of toxic describes debts which are unlikely to be repaid and assets suddenly found to be worthless: banks will be pressured to come clean on the amount of toxic debt they hold no one wants to buy any of these toxic assets. Toxic has been used metaphorically to describe something very bad or harmful since the late 20th century ( the scandal could be politically toxic), and the specific financial sense is first recorded around 1990. Before that, though, risky stocks and bonds were referred to as toxic waste—they are dangerous to (financial) health and very difficult to dispose of