cyanogen
nounUK /saɪˈænədʒən/
US /saɪˈænədʒən/
A poisonous gas made of carbon and nitrogen that smells like almonds.
The chemist warned that cyanogen is dangerous to breathe.
RELATED WORDS
OTHER MEANINGS
2. A colorless, flammable, highly toxic gas (C2N2) used in organic synthesis and welding.
Cyanogen burns with a distinctive pinkish-purple flame.
3. The radical group -CN, present in cyanide compounds.
The cyanogen group appears in many nitrile compounds.
4. A former name for the element nitrogen, once thought to be part of cyanide compounds.
Early chemists used 'cyanogen' to describe the nitrogen-containing radical.