Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A colorless or yellowish poisonous oily liquid, C6H5NO2, having the odor of almonds and used in the manufacture of aniline, insulating compounds, and polishes.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Same as nitrobenzol.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Chem.) A yellow aromatic liquid (C6H5.NO2), produced by the action of nitric acid on benzene, and called from its odor imitation oil of bitter almonds, or essence of mirbane. It is used in perfumery, and is manufactured in large quantities in the preparation of aniline. Fornerly called also nitrobenzol.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun organic chemistry A nitro derivative of benzene, C6H5NO2, prepared by reacting benzene with a mixture of nitric and sulphuric acids; any of a series of such compounds having two or more nitro groups

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a poisonous oily water-soluble liquid used as a solvent and in the manufacture of aniline

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Mr. Ma said the government has reacted swiftly to solve the problem, unlike in 2005 when officials attempted to cover up an explosion at a chemical plant owned by state-owned oil giant PetroChina Co. that sent more than 100 tons of benzene, nitrobenzene and other toxic chemicals into the Songhua River, contaminating the water supply of northeastern city of Harbin.

    Cadmium Spill Threatens Water Supply Laurie Burkitt 2012

  • You fill it with nitrobenzene and a homemade detonator.

    Dan Lybarger: On Car Bombs and Righteous Leaks: A Conversation With Robert Baer Dan Lybarger 2010

  • You fill it with nitrobenzene and a homemade detonator.

    Dan Lybarger: On Car Bombs and Righteous Leaks: A Conversation With Robert Baer Dan Lybarger 2010

  • Dishwashing detergents often contain phosphates that pollute water; wood polish often contains toxins like nitrobenzene; and laundry detergent may contain bleach and other corrosives.

    Christopher Gavigan: 5 Secrets Conventional Cleaning Product Manufacturers Don't Want You to Know 2009

  • As more than 100 tons of highly carcinogenic benzene and nitrobenzene flowed into the Songhua River, officials and the state-controlled media lied about what had happened.

    Orville Schell: China: Boom or Boomerang? 2008

  • These two ameliorating factors also apply to TBP arising from industrial accidents, as with the incident at Jilin, Helongjiang Province in November 2005 when some 100 tonnes of benzene, nitrobenzene and other compounds were released into the Songhua River At the time it was thought that the spill would cause serious TBP, but natural dilution and the construction of a diversion dam prevented appreciable flows of polluted water into Russia.

    One Lifeboat~ Chapter 3 2008

  • In November 2006, the Songhua River in northern China was contaminated by a serious spill of benzene, aniline and nitrobenzene from the Jilin Petrochemical Corporation, in Jilin Province.

    One Lifeboat~ Chapter 3 2008

  • “Evolution of catabolic pathways for synthetic compounds: bacterial pathways for degradation of 2,4-dinitrotoluene and nitrobenzene.”

    Coopting cooption - The Panda's Thumb 2005

  • Others, still more widely used, proceed in an acid medium, such as zinc, iron or tin reacting with dilute sulphuric, hydrochloric or acetic acid (method of preparing aniline from nitrobenzene, etc.).

    Paul Sabatier - Nobel Lecture 1966

  • In 1898 he explained the reduction of nitrobenzene in stages at the cathode and this became the model for other similar reduction processes.

    Fritz Haber - Biography 1966

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