Skip to main content
chemical

chemical

837 3.5
Relating to substances and how they change or react
  • adjective
  • /ˈkɛmɪkəl/
translation icon : químico
  • She learned about the chemical properties of water during her chemistry class.
  • chemical reactions
  • chemical compounds
  • chemical fertilizers

And in fact, this is where your chemical intuition falls apart.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Eventually, the temperature becomes high enough that chemical reactions change the makeup of the gas.

    Academic text (2011)
  • We're gonna form chemical bonds using heat.

  • So that smell, this one like chemical, you smell that, right?

  • These smell like straight up chemical and I can taste it.

  • Every one of these plants is a chemical factory, right?

  • These are electrochemical or chemical storage for our energy.

  • Fortunately, it has a very distinct chemical footprint.

  • I just have this chemical imbalance.

  • I am medicated for a chemical imbalance.

  • They say it's genetic, they say it's a chemical imbalance.

Compounds

chemical weapon
  • Literature
176 4.6

A harmful chemical that kills or hurts people, animals and plants in war

chemical reaction
  • Specialized
24 3.1

A change where substances turn into different substances

chemical plant
  • Specialized
18 3.6

A factory that makes chemicals in large amounts

chemical warfare
  • Specialized
12 5.6

The use of poisonous chemicals as weapons to kill or hurt people

A change in brain chemicals that affects mood and thinking

chemical compound
  • Specialized
8 2.8

A substance made of two or more elements joined in fixed amounts, like water

chemical engineering
  • Specialized
8 4.1

A field that designs machines and processes using chemistry to make products like fuels and plastics

chemical agent
  • Specialized
7 4.1

A substance used to cause or speed up a change in other substances

chemical analysis
  • Specialized
6 3.5

To test a substance to find what elements or compounds are in it

Businesses and factories that make materials used in medicines, plastics and cleaners

chemical process
  • Specialized
4 3.5

A process that changes the tiny particles that make a substance

chemical element
  • Specialized
3 3.7

A pure substance made of atoms that all have the same number of protons, like oxygen or gold

chemical formula
  • Specialized
3 3.6

Symbols that show which elements are in a substance and how many of each

A substance that can cause harm to people, animals, or the environment

chemical energy
  • Specialized
2 4.0

Power stored inside substances that is released when they react together

1 5.8

A weapon that releases toxic chemicals when it explodes to kill or harm people

chemical property
  • Specialized
1 5.1

How a substance reacts in a chemical reaction and becomes a different substance

An international agreement that bans creating, storing, moving or using chemical weapons

chemical change
  • Specialized
1 3.7

A process that turns one substance into a different one by changing its atoms or molecules

chemical bond
  • Specialized
1 3.4

A force that holds atoms or ions together to form a compound

chemical substance
  • Specialized
1 3.2

A material used in reactions or to make other things like medicines

chemical equilibrium
  • Specialized
1 5.1

A state in a reaction where forward and reverse reactions happen equally so amounts stay constant

chemical defense
  • Specialized
1 4.4

Actions and equipment used to protect people and deal with attacks or accidents involving dangerous chemicals

chemical group
  • Specialized
1 3.5

A small group of atoms joined together that is part of a larger molecule and gives it certain properties

chemical irritant
  • Specialized
1 4.8

A substance that makes skin, eyes or breathing feel sore, like tear gas

chemical balance
  • Specialized
1 6.1

An exact scale in a lab for measuring very small amounts of chemicals

chemical terrorism
  • Specialized
1 7.9

Using dangerous chemicals as weapons to harm people and cause fear

A chemical reaction where one compound breaks into two or more different substances

chemical diabetes
  • Specialized
5.3

A mild form of diabetes that shows abnormal blood sugar tests but no clear symptoms

6.8

A liquid spray that makes eyes burn and makes people feel dizzy so they cannot move

chemical mechanism
  • Specialized
4.5

Steps that show how a chemical reaction happens

chemical notation
  • Specialized
5.3

A system of symbols and formulas that shows chemical elements, compounds, and reactions

Use of poisonous gas or chemicals in war to kill and hurt soldiers

chemical phenomenon
  • Specialized
4.6

A change where substances become new substances when they react together

chemical action
  • Specialized
3.5

A process in which substances change into new substances, for example rusting or cooking

chemical attraction
  • Specialized
3.5

A force that pulls atoms together to form molecules

chemical chain
  • Specialized
4.5

A long series of atoms joined together that forms part of a molecule like in plastic

chemical reactor
  • Specialized
4.4

A container or device that holds and controls chemical reactions

6.5

A rule that in a reversible chemical reaction the forward and reverse reactions happen at the same rate at equilibrium

A chemical test that measures how much of each substance is in a sample

research chemical
  • Specialized
7.1

A substance made in a lab for scientists to test, not for medical use

A drug sold for people to take with unknown effects and risks

An international group that helps countries destroy chemical weapons and checks they do not make or use them

A chemical used in scientific research that is not controlled by authorities

How Enzymatic

enzymatic
  • Specialized
3 6.7
chemical
837 3.5
nonenzymatic
  • Specialized
8.2

Surface Forms

chemical positive

Morphology

chemical = chemistry (transparent) = chem + ical

The word 'chemical' is transparently derived from 'chemistry' with the suffix '-ical' indicating a relation to the field.

Etymology

Chemical comes from the old word alchemy, the early art of trying to 'change' metals into gold and to work with strange substances, and it shares its root with chemistry. So chemical now describes things or processes that involve the study and change of substances.