What does "cyanogen" mean?

The pseudohalogen (CN)₂; a colorless, poisonous gas used as a rocket propellant, an insecticide and in chemical warfare.

What is a synonym for "cyanogen"?

Common synonyms include: dicyanogen, ethanedinitrile, nitriloacetonitrile, oxalonitrile.

Pronounced //saɪˈæn.ə.d͡ʒɪn//.

//saɪˈæn.ə.d͡ʒɪn// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
The pseudohalogen (CN)₂; a colorless, poisonous gas used as a rocket propellant, an insecticide and in chemical warfare. countable, uncountable
2
a colorless toxic gas with a pungent almond odor; has been used in chemical warfare wordnet
3
The radical -CN. countable, uncountable

From cyano- + -gen; compare French cyanogène. So called because it produced blue dyes.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.