reagent

R1E1A1G2E1N1T1
/ɹiˈeɪ.d͡ʒənt/

noun

A compound or mixture of compounds used to treat or test materials, samples, other compounds or reactants in a laboratory or sometimes an industrial setting.

OriginLatin reagō →
Less commonScrabble 8
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Meanings

nounreagent (plural reagents)

plural reagents · alternative rare reägent

  1. chemistryA compound or mixture of compounds used to treat or test materials, samples, other compounds or reactants in a laboratory or sometimes an industrial setting.

Origin

  1. Latinreagō
  2. Englishreagent

Possibly from Latin reagō. Compare with Norwegian Bokmål reagens. The sequence of act → action → agent → agency shows morphologic and semantic parallel, and apparent cognate relation, with react → reaction → reagent → reagency.

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian реактив
  • реактив (reaktiv)substance used in chemical reactions
Catalan reactiu
  • reactiusubstance used in chemical reactions
Chinese Mandarin 試劑 /试剂
  • 試劑 /试剂 (shìjì)substance used in chemical reactions
Czech činidlo
  • činidlosubstance used in chemical reactions
Dutch reagens
  • reagenssubstance used in chemical reactions
Finnish reagenssi
  • reagenssisubstance used in chemical reactions
French réactif
  • réactifsubstance used in chemical reactions
German Edukt, Reagenz
  • Eduktsubstance used in chemical reactions
  • Reagenzsubstance used in chemical reactions
Italian reagente, reattivo
  • reagentesubstance used in chemical reactions
  • reattivosubstance used in chemical reactions
Japanese 試薬
  • 試薬 (shiyaku)substance used in chemical reactions
Māori matū tauhohe
  • matū tauhohesubstance used in chemical reactions
Norwegian Bokmål reagens
  • reagenssubstance used in chemical reactions
Polish reagent, odczynnik
  • reagentsubstance used in chemical reactions
  • odczynniksubstance used in chemical reactions
Portuguese reagente, reativo
  • reagentesubstance used in chemical reactions
  • reativosubstance used in chemical reactions
Romanian reactant
  • reactantsubstance used in chemical reactions
Russian реаге́нт, реакти́в
  • реаге́нт (reagént)substance used in chemical reactions
  • реакти́в (reaktív)substance used in chemical reactions
Spanish reactivo
  • reactivosubstance used in chemical reactions
Swedish reagens
  • reagenssubstance used in chemical reactions
Tagalog pamalibilos
  • pamalibilossubstance used in chemical reactions
Turkish reaktif
  • reaktifsubstance used in chemical reactions
Vietnamese thuốc thử
  • thuốc thửsubstance used in chemical reactions

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

granteegreatenrentage
Cite this entry
APA

reagent. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reagent

MLA

“reagent.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reagent. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “reagent,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reagent.

Source: reagent on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.