noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A white crystalline hydrocarbon manufactured from coal tar; used in mothballs. uncountable, usually
2. 2
   a white crystalline strong-smelling hydrocarbon made from coal tar or petroleum and used in organic synthesis and as a fumigant in mothballs wordnet
3. 3
   An aromatic bicyclic hydrocarbon, C₁₀H₈; an acene containing two fused benzene rings. uncountable, usually

Synonyms

All synonyms

anthracenebenzenefuel oiloil

Etymology

From naphth(a) + -al + -ene.

Related phrases

lithium naphthalenenalidixic acidnaphthalene rednaphthalene yellownaphthaleneacetic acidpolychlorinated naphthalenebenzene ringcoal tar

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