counterpoison

Etymology

From counter- + poison.

counterpoison means A poison used against another poison, serving as an antidote. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 85 out of 100.

Why this word is great

COUNTERPOISON — [Noun] A poison employed to counteract or neutralize another poison, a remedy born of peril. From the prefix counter- (“against”) + poison, a partial translation of Middle French contrepoison. Unlike “antidote” (a general, often benign corrective) or “bezoar” (a mythical, organic talisman), a counterpoison is an alchemy of calculated risk, a venom turned against itself. It is the precise draft of arsenic for syphilis; the atropine plunged to halt a nerve agent; the controlled fire that starves a wildfire of fuel. To save a life, one must first carefully imperil it.

noun

A poison used against another poison, serving as an antidote.