Meanings
plural nerve gases
- A toxic chemical compound and banned weapon of mass destruction which, when inhaled or ingested, impairs nervous system functions, typically causing extreme physical distress and death by asphyxiation.
A former Japanese cult guru was sentenced to hang Friday for masterminding a sarin nerve gas attack on Tokyo subway trains in 1995.
2004 February 27, George Nishiyama, “Japan Cult Guru to Hang for Sarin Nerve Gas Attack”, in Washington Post, retrieved 02 Oct 20081 more example
United States Army chemical warfare experts said they believed it was quite possible that a gas corresponding roughly to the description of “nerve gas” might be produced under special conditions, but they had not heard that it could be successfully used in warfare.
1940 May 14, “Nazi ‘New Weapon’ Draws Skepticism”, in New York Times, page 6Synonyms: nerve agent
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA toxic chemical compound and banned weapon of mass destruction which, when inhaled or ingested, impairs nervous system functions, typically causing extreme physical distress and death by asphyxiation.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna toxic gas that is inhaled or absorbed through the skin and has harmful effects on the nervous and respiratory system
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Arabic غَاز أَعْصَاب, عَامِل أَعْصَاب
- غَاز أَعْصَاب (ḡāz ʔaʕṣāb)weapon of mass destruction
- عَامِل أَعْصَاب (ʕāmil ʔaʕṣāb)weapon of mass destruction
Chinese Mandarin 神經毒氣 /神经毒气, 神經性毒劑 /神经性毒剂
- 神經毒氣 /神经毒气 (shénjīng dúqì)weapon of mass destruction
- 神經性毒劑 /神经性毒剂 (shénjīngxìng dújì)weapon of mass destruction
Dutch zenuwgas
- zenuwgasweapon of mass destruction
Esperanto nerva gaso
- nerva gasoweapon of mass destruction
Finnish hermokaasu
- hermokaasuweapon of mass destruction
French gaz innervant
- gaz innervantweapon of mass destruction
German Nervengas, Nervenkampfstoff
- Nervengasweapon of mass destruction
- Nervenkampfstoffweapon of mass destruction
Hindi तंत्रिका गैस
- तंत्रिका गैस (tantrikā gais)weapon of mass destruction
Irish néarghás
- néarghásweapon of mass destruction
Italian gas nervino
- gas nervinoweapon of mass destruction
Japanese 神経ガス
- 神経ガス (shinkei gasu)weapon of mass destruction
Korean 신경 가스
- 신경 가스 (sin'gyeong gaseu)weapon of mass destruction
Latin gasum nervosum
- gasum nervosumweapon of mass destruction
Persian گاز اعصاب, عامل اعصاب
- گاز اعصاب (gâz-e a'sâb)weapon of mass destruction
- عامل اعصاب ('âmel-e a'sâb)weapon of mass destruction
Russian не́рвно-паралити́ческий газ
- не́рвно-паралити́ческий газ (nérvno-paralitíčeskij gaz)weapon of mass destruction
Spanish gas nervioso
- gas nerviosoweapon of mass destruction
Swedish nervgas
- nervgasweapon of mass destruction
Ukrainian нерво́во-параліти́чний газ
- нерво́во-параліти́чний газ (nervóvo-paralitýčnyj haz)weapon of mass destruction
Cite this entry
nerve gas. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nerve%20gas
“nerve gas.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nerve%20gas. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nerve gas,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nerve%20gas.
Source: nerve gas on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.