Word.ws English Dictionary

poisoned chalice

Syllables: poi·soned cha·liceUK/ˈpɔɪzn̩d ˈtʃælɪs//ˈpɔɪzənd ˈtʃælɪs/

poisoned chalice noun: something which is initially regarded as advantageous but which is later recognized to be disadvantageous or harmful; an apparently beneficial or benign instrument or scheme for causing death or harm.

Noun

poisoned chalice (plural poisoned chalices)

  1. (idiomatic) Something which is initially regarded as advantageous but which is later recognized to be disadvantageous or harmful; an apparently beneficial or benign instrument or scheme for causing death or harm.
    • [W]e but teach / Bloody Inſtructions, which, being taught, returne / To plague th' Inuentor. This euen-handed Iuſtice / Commends th' Ingredience of our poyſon'd Challice / To our owne lips.c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
    • Let this, Englishmen, be a leſſon to you; throw from you the doctrine of equality, as you would the poiſoned chalice. Wherever this deteſtable principle gains ground to any extent, ruin muſt inevitably enſue.1798, Peter Porcupine [pseudonym; William Cobbett], Democratic Principles Illustrated. Part the Second. […], 4th edition, London: […] J. Wright, […], →OCLC, page 17

Examples of poisoned chalice in a sentence

  • Remember the death of Wilson was fearfully avenged; and those yet live who can compel you to drink the dregs of your poisoned chalice.— [...]1818 July 25, Jedediah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], chapter VI, in Tales of My Landlord, Second Series, […] (The Heart of...
  • The great spiritual visions of human history have also been poisoned chalices, the causes of untold misery and even savagery.1989, Charles Taylor, Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modern Identity, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, →ISBN, page 519:
  • The CPA [Coalition Provisional Authority] left the Interim Government with two unresolved crises that were more akin to poisoned chalices.2007, Ali A[bdul-Amir] Allawi, “Showdown at the Shrine”, in The Occupation of Iraq: Winning the War, Losing the Peace, New Haven, Conn....
  • It is why the question of whether Labour should have accepted the support of his [Rupert Murdoch's] media empire as a gift, or spurned it as a poisoned chalice, retains a certain relevance.2013 November 24, “Editorial: Reports of a Murdoch-Blair feud are good news for Labour”, in The Independent, London: Independent News &...

Antonyms of poisoned chalice

Forms of poisoned chalice

pluralpoisoned chalices

Origin of poisoned chalice

From poisoned + chalice (“a large drinking cup”), referring to a chalice containing a poisoned drink which is offered to someone. The earliest use of the term cited in the Oxford English Dictionary is in Shakespeare’s Macbeth (c. 1606), in a speech in which Macbeth flinches from the prospective murder of King Duncan: see the quotation.

Words that rhyme with poisoned chalice

Questions about poisoned chalice

What does poisoned chalice mean?
Poisoned chalice means something which is initially regarded as advantageous but which is later recognized to be disadvantageous or harmful; an apparently beneficial or benign instrument or scheme for causing death or harm.
How do you use poisoned chalice in a sentence?
Remember the death of Wilson was fearfully avenged; and those yet live who can compel you to drink the dregs of your poisoned chalice.— [...]
What part of speech is poisoned chalice?
Poisoned chalice is a noun.
How do you pronounce poisoned chalice?
Poisoned chalice is pronounced /ˈpɔɪzn̩d ˈtʃælɪs/ (UK).
What is the plural of poisoned chalice?
The plural of poisoned chalice is poisoned chalices.

Words near poisoned chalice in the dictionary

  1. poisonability
  2. poisonable
  3. poisonal
  4. poisonberry
  5. poisoned
  6. poisoned chalice
  7. poisoned chalices
  8. poisoned compliment
  9. poisoned pawn
  10. poisoned pawns
  11. poisoned the well

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: poisoned chalice (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-poisoned chalice.mp3.

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