ORGANOPHOSPHATE NERVE AGENT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any of a series of nerve agents containing organophosphate compounds first synthesized by German chemists in 1936; in World War II the Germans tested them in concentration camps but not on the battlefield; Iraq is alleged to have used them against Iran and against the Kurds

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("organophosphate nerve agent" is a kind of...):

nerve agent; nerve gas (a toxic gas that is inhaled or absorbed through the skin and has harmful effects on the nervous and respiratory system)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "organophosphate nerve agent"):

GB; sarin (a highly toxic chemical nerve agent that inhibits the activity of cholinesterase)

GD; soman (a nerve agent easily absorbed into the body; a lethal cholinesterase inhibitor that is highly toxic when inhaled)

GA; tabun (the first known nerve agent, synthesized by German chemists in 1936; a highly toxic combustible liquid that is soluble in organic solvents and is used as a nerve gas in chemical warfare)

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