REDUCING AGENT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does reducing agent mean? 

• REDUCING AGENT (noun)
  The noun REDUCING AGENT has 1 sense:

1. 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

  Familiarity information: REDUCING AGENT used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• REDUCING AGENT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

reducer; reducing agent; reductant

Hypernyms ("reducing agent" is a kind of...):

chemical agent (an agent that produces chemical reactions)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "reducing agent"):

hydrazine (a colorless fuming corrosive liquid; a powerful reducing agent; used chiefly in rocket fuels)

 Context examples 

The glutathione (GSH) peptide reducing agent removes toxic metabolites and repairs damage created by reactive oxygen species.

(Free Radical Induced Apoptosis Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

A highly reactive base and reducing agent used in many industrial and medical applications.

(Hydrazine, NCI Thesaurus)

In the process, the "oxidizing agent" is itself reduced by the "reducing agent."

(Oxidation/Reduction, NCI Thesaurus)

Iodide salts are mild reducing agents and many react with oxygen to give iodine.

(Iodide, NCI Thesaurus)

The granules in the cell stain readily with chromium and silver salts without pretreatment with a reducing agent.

(Argentaffin Cell, NCI Thesaurus)

The substance gaining electrons ("oxidizing agent" or "oxidant") is oxidizing the substance that is losing electrons ("reducing agent" or "reductant").

(Oxidation/Reduction, NCI Thesaurus)

Glutathione peroxidase (GPx), for example, removes peroxides using glutathione as a reducing agent, and glutathione reductase (GSR) regenerates reduced glutathione.

(Free Radical Induced Apoptosis Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)