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Definition of "cyanogen" []

  • A colorless, flammable, pungent, highly poisonous gas, C2N2, used as a rocket propellant, an insecticide, and a chemical weapon. (noun)
  • A univalent radical, CN, found in simple and complex cyanide compounds. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "cyanogen" in a sentence
  • "A second commentator suggested it might have been a piece of a comet; comets often contain cyanogen, which at low levels could cause the symptoms described."
  • "Last month, its instruments showed that the comet was emitting a toxic gas called cyanogen whose output increased fivefold over an eight-day period before slowly decreasing again."
  • "In 1910, many people panicked when astronomers revealed Earth would pass through the cyanogen-rich tail of Comet Halley."
Words like "cyanogen"