benzonitrile

noun

ben·​zo·​ni·​trile

¦ben-(ˌ)zō-¦nī-trəl

plural -s

: a colorless toxic oily compound C₆H₅CN of almond-oil odor made by fusing a mixture of sodium cyanide and sodium benzenesulfonate and in other ways and used chiefly as a solvent for synthetic resins

called also cyanobenzene, phenyl cyanide

Word History

Etymology

German benzonitril, from benz- + nitril nitrile

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