cyanide

IPA/ˈsaɪənaɪd/
KK[sˈaɪənˌaɪd]IPA/ˈsaɪənaɪd/

cyanide — noun

1. a chemical substance that is an extremely fast-acting poison, preventing the bod

1.nounB2
Definition

a chemical substance that is an extremely fast-acting poison, preventing the body's cells from using oxygen and causing death within minutes if a large amount enters the body

Example

Police found traces of cyanide in the victim's coffee cup at the crime scene.

collocation: traces of cyanide

At the factory, workers must follow strict safety rules when handling cyanide.

collocation: handling cyanide

Common collocations
  • cyanide poisoning
  • cyanide capsule
  • cyanide pill
  • cyanide gas
  • cyanide solution
  • potassium cyanide
  • sodium cyanide
  • traces of cyanide
  • cyanide exposure
  • cyanide in
Synonyms
  • poison

    much broader term for any harmful substance; cyanide is a specific type of poison

  • toxin

    usually refers to poisons produced naturally by living organisms, not synthetic chemicals like cyanide

  • arsenic

    another specific chemical poison, but slower-acting and chemically unrelated to cyanide

Antonyms
  • antidote

    a substance that counteracts the effects of a poison

Grammar Patterns

compound noun: cyanide + noun (poisoning, capsule, pill)

uncountable — cannot take 'a' or 'an'

Usage Note

Frequently used as a modifier before nouns (e.g. cyanide poisoning, cyanide capsule). Also commonly paired with a specific chemical name (potassium cyanide, sodium cyanide) to indicate the exact compound.

Common Mistakes

The killer put a cyanide in her drink.
The killer put cyanide in her drink.
cyanide is uncountable and cannot be used with 'a' or 'an'.

Word family

  • cyanate
    nounC1
  • cyanic
    adjectiveC1
  • hydrocyanic
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Poison is the broadest term — any substance that causes injury, illness, or death when it enters the body. Toxin narrows the meaning to poisons produced naturally by living things (bacteria, plants, or animals such as snakes). Arsenic is another specific chemical poison with a long history in crime, but it acts much more slowly than cyanide and has different chemical properties. Cyanide stands apart for its extreme speed of action and its association with both industrial uses (gold mining, chemical manufacturing) and its notoriety in murder mysteries. For example: 'The poison on the dart was a toxin from a rare frog,' but 'The lab report confirmed cyanide in the victim's bloodstream.'

poison ↗toxin ↗arsenic

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • cyanide poisoning
  • potassium cyanide
  • sodium cyanide
  • cyanide in
  • traces of cyanide

Prepositions

Etymology

GreekFrenchEnglish

The name comes from Greek 'kyanos' (κύανος), meaning 'dark blue', because the gas from which cyanide compounds were first obtained was named 'cyanogen' — and when heated, it produced a blue flame. The connection to blue goes further: the pigment Prussian blue, a deep blue colour, is itself a cyanide compound. The word passed through French 'cyanogène' before entering English as 'cyanide' in the early 1800s.