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chem·i·cal | \ ˈke-mi-kəl 
\
\Definition of chemical
(Entry 1 of 2)
chemical
nounDefinition of chemical (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : a substance obtained by a chemical process or producing a chemical effect
2 : drug sense 2
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Other Words from chemical
Adjective
chemically \ ˈke-mi-k(ə-)lē \ adverb
\ adverbExamples of chemical in a Sentence
Adjective
They studied the compound's chemical structure.
Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective The largest group served in the Vietnam era, where 2.8 million veterans were exposed to Agent Orange, a chemical defoliant linked to cancer.
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Jamie Rowen, The Conversation, "Memorial Day: Why veterans are particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus pandemic," 22 May 2020 Victoria Shay Glasco, a 28-year-old Decatur woman, was arrested this week on a felony charge of chemical endangerment of a child, police said.
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Ashley Remkus | Aremkus@al.com, al, "5-year-old Alabama boy eats THC candy, police say; mother arrested," 21 May 2020 The chemical makeup of their bones sheds light on their earlier lives in Africa, and forensic analysis reveals hard, painful lives and young deaths.
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Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, "The 500-year-old bones of African slaves tell a traumatic story," 6 May 2020 Officers with the River Vale Police Department paid the store a visit after photos posted to social media showed chemical burns to the boy's arms and legs, according to a statement posted to the department's Facebook page.
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Leah Asmelash, CNN, "Police seize likely homemade sanitizer from a 7-Eleven after a young boy was allegedly burned by it," 11 Mar. 2020 And misinformation about the attacks began to spread on Twitter, with some users sharing stock photos of chemical burns with captions identifying them as caused by milkshakes.
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oregonlive.com, "Milkshake-makers in Portland protests say they got death threats after police warned of ‘quick-drying cement’," 3 July 2019 However, the most common is a chemical reaction between carbon and oxygen.
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Rhett Allain, Wired, "The Science of Temperature Is Weirder Than You Think," 14 May 2020 At least 11 people, including an eight-year-old, were reported dead and over 5,000 have fallen sick following a gas leak early today (May 7) from a chemical plant in Visakhapatnam in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
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Niharika Sharma, Quartz India, "11 dead and over 5,000 take ill after gas leak at a chemical plant in India’s Visakhapatnam," 6 May 2020 Its efficiency for converting the energy in electrons to chemical bonds in NH3 is 40%, the highest ever achieved with an electrolyzer.
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Robert F. Service, Science | AAAS, "Making commodity chemicals requires fossil fuels. New devices could do it with renewables," 4 May 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Screening a huge number of chemicals for effective drugs is arduous work and often fails to produce a winner.
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Author: Christopher Rowland, Anchorage Daily News, "Taxpayers paid to develop remdesivir but will have no say when Gilead sets price," 27 May 2020 The policy could set a precedent for the regulation of other chemicals.
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Penn Bullock, New York Times, "Jobless Claims, Food Supply, Rovers: Your Thursday Evening Briefing," 14 May 2020 In March Iwen was looking at an extreme shortage of testing chemicals.
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Marla Broadfoot, Scientific American, "Coronavirus Test Shortages Trigger a New Strategy: Group Screening," 13 May 2020 Dopamine, according to Psychology Today, is a neurotransmitter, one of those chemicals that is responsible for transmitting signals between the nerve cells (neurons) of the brain.
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Lily Jackson | Ljackson@al.com, al, "How are extroverts finding purpose without people?," 8 May 2020 Benzaldehyde is included in the Drug Enforcement Administration's list of regulated chemicals.
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Madeline Mitchell, Cincinnati.com, "Feds: West Chester company illegally imported almond flavor from China, agrees to $50k settlement," 6 May 2020 Some of the most common sources of the chemicals are from food.
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Laura Schulte, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "What you should know about PFAS, or 'forever' chemicals, contaminating drinking water in parts of Wisconsin," 27 Apr. 2020 Wuhan, China, is the world capital of production of chemicals needed to make fentanyl.
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Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, "Coronavirus chokes the drug trade — from Wuhan, through Mexico and onto U.S. streets," 24 Apr. 2020 On the shortlist of chemicals to avoid in everyday personal-care items, fragrance always tops the list.
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Sunset Magazine, "The Best Products to Buy to Celebrate Earth Day," 22 Apr. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'chemical.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for chemical
chemical
adjectiveEnglish Language Learners Definition of chemical
(Entry 1 of 2)
: of or relating to chemistry
: working by means of chemicals
chemical
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of chemical (Entry 2 of 2)
: a substance (such as an element or compound) that is made by a chemical process
See the full definition for chemical in the English Language Learners Dictionary
chemical
adjectivechem·i·cal | \ ˈke-mi-kəl \
\Kids Definition of chemical
(Entry 1 of 2)
: of or relating to chemistry or chemicals
chemical
nounKids Definition of chemical (Entry 2 of 2)
: any substance (as an acid) that is formed when two or more other substances act upon one another or that is used to produce a change in another substance
chemical
adjectivechem·i·cal | \ ˈkem-i-kəl \
\Medical Definition of chemical
(Entry 1 of 2)
Other Words from chemical
chemically \ -i-k(ə-)lē \ adverb
\ adverbchemical
nounMedical Definition of chemical (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : a substance (as an element or chemical compound) obtained by a chemical process or used for producing a chemical effect
2 : drug sense 2
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Time Traveler for chemical
The first known use of chemical was in 1576
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