English Dictionary |
CHEMICAL AGENT
Pronunciation (US): | ![]() | (GB): | ![]() |
IPA (US): | ![]() |
Dictionary entry overview: What does chemical agent mean?
• CHEMICAL AGENT (noun)
The noun CHEMICAL AGENT has 1 sense:
1. an agent that produces chemical reactions
Familiarity information: CHEMICAL AGENT used as a noun is very rare.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
An agent that produces chemical reactions
Classified under:
Nouns denoting substances
Hypernyms ("chemical agent" is a kind of...):
agent (a substance that exerts some force or effect)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "chemical agent"):
active; active agent (chemical agent capable of activity)
reagent (a chemical agent for use in chemical reactions)
desiccant; drier; drying agent; siccative (a substance that promotes drying (e.g., calcium oxide absorbs water and is used to remove moisture))
oxidant; oxidiser; oxidizer; oxidizing agent (a substance that oxidizes another substance)
reducer; reducing agent; reductant (a substance capable of bringing about the reduction of another substance as it itself is oxidized; used in photography to lessen the density of a negative or print by oxidizing some of the loose silver)
scavenger (a chemical agent that is added to a chemical mixture to counteract the effects of impurities)
surface-active agent; surfactant; wetter; wetting agent (a chemical agent capable of reducing the surface tension of a liquid in which it is dissolved)
vesicant; vesicatory (a chemical agent that causes blistering (especially mustard gas))
Context examples
A device that experienced damage as the result of a chemical agent used during the sterilization process e.g. excessive residual chemical or an incompatible sterilant.
(Device Chemical Agent Damage Evaluation Result, Food and Drug Administration)
Learn English with... Proverbs |
"With all things and in all things, we are relatives." (Native American proverb, Sioux)
"The monkey in his mother's eye is a gazelle." (Arabic proverb)
"Know what you say, but don't say all that you know." (Dutch proverb)