Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🧪 Chemical compound 💥 A yellow chemical
picric

picric

9.9
A yellow chemical used as a dye, to kill germs, and in explosives
  • noun
  • /ˈpɪkrɪk/
  • Specialized
translation icon : ácido pícrico
  • The lab uses picric acid for various experiments.

Examples

  • Early dyes often contained picric because of its bright yellow color.

  • A solution of picric was used to test for the presence of certain metals.

  • The laboratory kept picric in a secure storage area due to its explosive properties.

  • He found a bottle of picric in the chemistry lab.

  • The laboratory kept picric in a secure storage area due to its explosive properties.

  • Early dyes often contained picric because of its bright yellow color.

  • A solution of picric was used to test for the presence of certain metals.

Synonyms

picric acid
vspicric
  • Specialized
9.9

A yellow poisonous chemical that can explode and is used in dyes and explosives

highlights crystalline form and uses as a dye and antiseptic

Compounds

picric acid
  • Specialized
9.9

A yellow poisonous chemical that can explode and is used in dyes and explosives

Surface Forms

picric singular
picrics plural

Morphology

picric = picr + ic

Although the form contains the adjective-forming suffix '-ic', the root 'picr-' is a specialised combining form and not a familiar English base, so the compound chemical name cannot be predicted by learners from its parts.

Etymology

Picric for the acid comes from the Greek pikros 'bitter', a name early chemists gave because the compound tasted bitter. So, picric refers to the yellow chemical 'picric acid', used as a dye and antiseptic and sometimes, in the past, as an explosive.