nerve agent

noun

: a toxic, usually odorless organophosphate (such as sarin, tabun, or VX) that is used as a chemical weapon in gaseous or liquid form, disrupts the transmission of nerve impulses, and may cause breathing difficulties, coughing, vomiting, muscle weakness or paralysis, convulsions, coma, and death : nerve gas

Examples of nerve agent in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In recent years, attempted assassinations of Putin’s opponents at home and abroad with nerve agents prompted only the imposition of small-scale sanctions and the expulsion of some Russian diplomats from Western countries. —Ivo Daalder, Foreign Affairs, 7 Apr. 2022

Navalny, 47, was an unrelenting critic of President Vladimir Putin, even after surviving a nerve agent poisoning and receiving multiple prison terms. —John Bacon, USA TODAY, 25 June 2024

The medical center requested tests that indicated he had been poisoned with Novichok, a chemical nerve agent developed by the Russian government in the 1980s and ’90s. —Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 16 Feb. 2024

Kim ordered his half brother’s assassination with a nerve agent in Kuala Lumpur. —Scott D. Sagan, Foreign Affairs, 16 Mar. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1953, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

nerve agent

noun

: a toxic, usually odorless organophosphate (such as sarin, tabun, or VX) that disrupts the transmission of nerve impulses by inhibiting cholinesterase and especially acetylcholinesterase and is used as a chemical weapon in gaseous or liquid form : nerve gas

Note: Nerve agents may be inhaled, absorbed through the skin, or ingested in contaminated food or water. Symptoms of exposure include runny nose, increased salivation, sweating, breathing difficulties, coughing, vomiting, muscle weakness or paralysis, convulsions, coma, and respiratory arrest leading to death.