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Glite Dictionary
mustard agent

mustard agent

1 9.9
A very strong chemical weapon that causes severe blisters and harms the lungs and eyes
  • noun
  • /ˈmʌstərd ˈeɪdʒənt/
  • NSFW
translation icon : agente mostaza
  • The military used the mustard agent in World War I, causing severe injuries to soldiers on the battlefield.

Examples

  • Egypt appears to have inherited stocks of phosgene and mustard agents left behind by British forces when their occupation of Egypt ended in 1954.

    Academic text (2007)

  • These stockpiles contain obsolete nerve gases and mustard agents in various munitions and containers.

    Academic text (1995)

  • Investigators found traces of mustard agent in the abandoned site, which raised concerns about chemical warfare safety.

  • During the training exercise, soldiers learned how to recognize the effects of exposure to mustard agent and how to respond.

Synonyms

chemical weapon
vsmustard agent
  • Literature
176 4.6

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

is a single highly toxic sulfur compound used for targeted mass harm
poison gas
vsmustard agent
  • NSFW
12 5.7

A harmful gas used as a weapon that can kill or make people very sick if they breathe it

is a sulfur-containing blistering agent not only a generic toxic gas
mustard gas
vsmustard agent
  • NSFW
6 7.7

A poison gas used in war that causes painful blisters and damages the lungs

adds focus on sulfur compounds and chemical identity
yperite
vsmustard agent
  • NSFW
9.9

A poisonous gas, also called mustard gas, that causes severe skin blisters and lung damage

is the term emphasizing sulfur compounds and blistering effects
sulfur mustard
vsmustard agent
  • NSFW
9.9

A poisonous chemical used in war that causes severe blisters and eye and lung damage

highlights the agent as a sulfur compound causing eye and lung damage
dichloroethyl sulfide
vsmustard agent
  • NSFW
9.9

A very toxic gas used as a weapon that causes severe blisters and eye and lung damage

is the broader term for agents containing sulfur compounds and causing blisters
blistering agent
vsmustard agent
  • NSFW
9.9

A harmful chemical that causes severe blisters on skin and damages eyes and lungs, often used as a weapon

refers specifically to agents with sulfur compounds rather than any blistering substance

Surface Forms

mustard agent singular
mustard agents plural

Morphology

mustard + agent

The headword 'agent' clearly marks a substance causing an effect, and 'mustard' signals some relation to mustard, so learners will likely infer it is a substance related to mustard. However, the specific technical sense — a highly toxic, blistering chemical warfare agent — is specialized and historically named, so the dangerous/warfare meaning is not fully predictable from everyday knowledge of 'mustard' and 'agent'.

Etymology

Mustard agent got its name from the smell and colour of the chemical, because early users said it smelled like mustard and looked yellow-brown. That's why the term came to mean a 'chemical weapon' that causes severe blisters and damages the eyes and lungs.