| Library / English Dictionary |
CHEMICAL AGENT
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
An agent that produces chemical reactions
Classified under:
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))
