nerve agent
nounDefinition of nerve agent
: 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
The Trump administration announcing new sanctions against Russia over the use of a military-grade nerve agents on U.K. soil. — Fox News, "Rep. Ed Royce on US relations with Russia, Turkey and Iran; Rep. Devin Nunes on Bruce Ohr and the push to declassify DOJ documents," 12 Aug. 2018 Laboratory testing showed the substance that poisoned them was Novichok, the British government has said, part of a class of nerve agents developed first in the Soviet Union and later in Russia. — New York Times, "Britain Suggests Russia Is Behind Latest Nerve Agent Case," 9 July 2018 Synthesis of nerve agents requires a specialist laboratory, with fume cupboards. — Simon Cotton, Scientific American, "Nerve Agents: What Are They and How Do They Work?," 9 Mar. 2018 Sergei Skripal, a former Russian spy, was poisoned along with his daughter in Salisbury, England, last year with a potent nerve agent administered by two officers from Russia’s military intelligence, Britain said. — Neil Macfarquhar, BostonGlobe.com, "Fears of Navalny poisoning are rooted in previous attacks on Kremlin foes," 29 July 2019 Machines in the mail room detected the chemical sarin — a potentially lethal nerve agent — inside the package, prompting officials to evacuate four buildings and call authorities. — Alejandra Reyes-velarde, latimes.com, "No sarin found in package sent to Facebook that prompted evacuations, officials say," 2 July 2019 Sarin is an extremely volatile nerve agent because of its ability to evaporate from liquid to gas. — Cheri Mossburg, CNN, "Sarin possibly found at a Facebook mailing facility in California, no employees exposed," 1 July 2019 Sarin gas is a clear, colorless nerve agent with no taste or odor that can occur in liquid or vapor form, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. — Bay City News Service, The Mercury News, "Hazmat crews at Facebook HQ in Menlo Park after sarin scare," 1 July 2019 Kim is suspected of having ordered the killing of his half brother through a plot using a nerve agent at a Malaysian airport in 2017. — Jonathan Lemire, Twin Cities, "At DMZ, step into history for Trump as he offers hand to Kim," 30 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'nerve agent.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more