chemical agent
7
4.1
- noun
- /ˈkɛmɪkəl ˈeɪdʒənt/
- Specialized
:
agente químico
- PHOTO (COLOR): The MecTool auger drills into contaminated soil to deliver chemical agents and cementation grout to prevent waste from leaching into groundwater.
- biological or chemical agent
Examples
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Special showers to wash off chemical agents were set up outside the hospitals, and civil defense exercises were held.
Academic text (1993) -
They disposed of 480,000 liters of live chemical agent and more than 3,000 tons of precursor chemicals.
Academic text (2004) -
We have a limited supply of chemical agents.
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A sidewalk is a public place, and the general public cannot be exposed to dangerous chemical agents.
Blog text (1) -
In essence, these students had developed a rather sophisticated bioassay to test for the presence of this suspected chemical agent.
Academic text (1998) -
Chemical agents can readily be produced in any fertilizer plant; biological agents in pharmaceutical plants.
Academic text (1993) -
Other known risk factors include active and passive smoking, exposure to certain chemical agents (e.g., asbestos), and a family history of malignant tumors.
Academic text (2001) -
The objectives of this paper are to provide data and insight on occupational hazards with exposure to various biological and chemical agents and to suggest mitigation measures that would reduce potential health hazards to workers.
Academic text (1996) -
The fungus produced a chemical agent that slowed the growth of certain bacteria.
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Looks like they breathed in some sort of chemical agent.
Synonyms
541
3.2
A substance made or used when materials react
9
7.9
A chemical added to a sample to cause a reaction or to test for a substance
1
3.2
A material used in reactions or to make other things like medicines
1
4.2
A substance that directly changes how a body or germ works
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a substance that produces or promotes chemical reactions' is directly derivable from 'chemical' (relating to chemistry) combined with 'agent' (something that causes an effect); there is no idiomatic shift. This straightforward adjective+noun composition is common across languages and standard English usage, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The compound chemical agent combines chemical, meaning a substance, and agent, meaning something that acts, so it paints a simple picture of a substance that makes things happen. So today chemical agent means a substance used 'to make a chemical reaction happen' or 'to cause change'.