Toxischen

Toxischen is the inflected form of the German adjective toxisch, meaning poisonous or harmful to living organisms. It is used to describe substances, effects, or conditions that pose a health risk. The form appears in various grammatical cases and numbers, for example die toxischen Substanzen (toxic substances, nominative plural), in toxischem Material (in toxic material), or toxische Wirkungen (toxic effects). The word derives from Greek toxikon “poison for arrows,” passing into Latin as toxicum and into German through later scientific usage.

In toxicology, toxicity denotes the degree to which a substance can damage an organism. Toxicity is typically dose-dependent and context-dependent, influenced by exposure route, duration, and species differences. The field of toxicology studies such effects and uses measures such as LD50 (lethal dose for 50% of test subjects), NOAEL (no observed adverse effect level), and EC50. Distinctions are made between acute toxicity (short-term effects) and chronic toxicity (long-term effects). Substances are classified and regulated to manage risks, with labeling, exposure limits, and risk assessments reflecting their toxic potential.

The adjective toxisch and its inflected forms are common across science, industry, and public health discourse. They appear in discussions of environmental pollution, occupational safety, pharmaceuticals, and consumer products. In everyday language, toxisch can also be used metaphorically to describe harmful or unhealthy social or relational dynamics, as in “toxische Beziehungen.”