consume vs ingest

Question

0 Fifty-four people were sickened by toxic fumes at a hospital in southern Japan Wednesday when a man vomited after drinking pesticide to commit suicide.02br02br00An official with Red Cross Hospital in Kumamoto said the 34-year-old man later died while the people who were sickened were "progressing favorably."02br02br00Eleven of the 54 people who were sickened were doctors; another 20 were staffers at the hospital in the city of Kumamoto.02br02br00The liquid pesticide the man 01b00consumed02b00 was later identified as chloropicrin, which was used to produce tear gas during World War I and induces tears and vomiting.02br02br00 Can I replace 'consumed' with 'ingested' without change of meaning?02br02br00Thanks in advance!0-

Optilang · Accepted Answer

0yes 0-

RayH · Answer

1blockquote

01cite10New2grammar12cite10Can I replace 'consumed' with 'ingested' without change of meaning?12blockquote

10Yes, in fact in a context like this I think that "ingested" is a better choice than "consumed".0-

New2grammar · Answer

0RayH, could you please briefly explain why ingest is slightly better? Does it have to do with the fact that they commit suicide? How?0-

RayH · Answer

1blockquote

01cite10New2grammar12cite10RayH, could you please briefly explain why ingest is slightly better? Does it have to do with the fact that they commit suicide? How?12br
12blockquote

10I knew you were going ask that. 05002br
02br
00I guess I think of "consume" as relating to food and drink (non-poisonous variety). On the other hand when someone eats some non-food item it's more appropriate to say they "ingested" it. Although, strictly speaking, when you consume food you are also ingesting it.010id1

New2grammar · Answer

0You could have preempted me 05002br
02br
00Thanks, RayH.010id1

consume vs ingest

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