Standard Lemma guide

chemical

adj · noun · 9 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • kĕm'ĭk-əl
  • /ˈkɛm.ɪ.kəl/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • UK: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɛmɪkəl
  • CMU ARPABET: K EH1 M AH0 K AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: K EH1 M IH0 K AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Of or relating to chemistry.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • chemical experiments
  • the chemical properties of iron
  • Pentalene has chemical formula C8H6

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Of or relating to a material or processes not commonly found in nature or in a particular product.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Of or relating to alchemy.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable, obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

Any specific chemical element or chemical compound or alloy.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: chemistry, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences

Examples

  • Hydrogen and sulphur are both chemicals.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

An artificial chemical compound.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: colloquial

Examples

  • I color my hair with henna, not chemicals.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

An addictive drug.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: slang

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

adjective

Meaning 7

relating to or used in chemistry

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • chemical engineer
  • chemical balance

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: chemic

Antonyms: none provided

8

adjective

Meaning 8

of or made from or using substances produced by or used in reactions involving atomic or molecular changes

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • chemical fertilizer

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

noun

Meaning 9

material produced by or used in a reaction involving changes in atoms or molecules

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: chemical substance

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: material, stuff

Narrower terms: explosive, reactant, Alar, daminozide, carrier, bactericide, bacteriacide, carbon tetrahalide, congener, compound, chemical compound, soil conditioner, fertilizer, fertiliser, plant food, flux, fumigant, herbicide, weedkiller, weed killer, intermediate, fraction, larvicide, pesticide, phytochemical, product, restrainer, stabilizer, softener

History

Etymology

From New Latin chēmicus + -al.

Across languages

Translations

147 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: chemies — relating to chemistry
  • Albanian: kimik — relating to chemistry
  • Arabic: كِيمَاوِيّ (kīmāwiyy) — relating to chemistry
  • Arabic: كِيمِيَائِيّ (kīmiyāʔiyy) — relating to chemistry
  • Armenian: քիմիական (kʻimiakan) — relating to chemistry
  • Asturian: químicu — relating to chemistry
  • Azerbaijani: kimyəvi — relating to chemistry
  • Azerbaijani: кимјәви — relating to chemistry
  • Basque: kimiko — relating to chemistry
  • Belarusian: хімі́чны (ximíčny) — relating to chemistry
  • Bulgarian: хими́чески (himíčeski) — relating to chemistry
  • Bulgarian: хими́чен (himíčen) — relating to chemistry
  • Catalan: químic — relating to chemistry
  • Chinese Mandarin: 化學的 /化学的 (huàxué de) — relating to chemistry
  • Czech: chemický — relating to chemistry
  • Danish: kemisk — relating to chemistry
  • Dutch: chemisch — relating to chemistry
  • Dutch: scheikundig — relating to chemistry
  • Esperanto: ĥemia — relating to chemistry
  • Esperanto: kemia — relating to chemistry
  • Estonian: keemiline — relating to chemistry
  • Finnish: kemiallinen — relating to chemistry
  • French: chimique — relating to chemistry
  • Galician: químico — relating to chemistry
  • Georgian: ქიმიური (kimiuri) — relating to chemistry
  • German: chemisch — relating to chemistry
  • Greek: χημικός (chimikós) — relating to chemistry
  • Haitian Creole: chimik — relating to chemistry
  • Hebrew: כִימִי (chími) — relating to chemistry
  • Hindi: रासायनिक (rāsāynik) — relating to chemistry
  • Hungarian: vegyi — relating to chemistry
  • Hungarian: kémiai — relating to chemistry
  • Indonesian: kimia — relating to chemistry
  • Indonesian: kimiawi — relating to chemistry
  • Interlingua: chimic — relating to chemistry
  • Italian: chimico — relating to chemistry
  • Japanese: 化学〜 (kagaku-) — relating to chemistry
  • Japanese: 化学的 (kagaku-teki) — relating to chemistry
  • Kazakh: химиялық (ximiälyq) — relating to chemistry
  • Korean: 화학의 (hwahagui) — relating to chemistry
  • Korean: 화학적 (hwahakjeok) — relating to chemistry
  • Northern Kurdish: kîmyewî — relating to chemistry
  • Kyrgyz: химиялык (himiyalık) — relating to chemistry
  • Latvian: ķīmisks — relating to chemistry
  • Ligurian: chimico — relating to chemistry
  • Lithuanian: cheminis — relating to chemistry
  • Macedonian: хемиски (hemiski) — relating to chemistry
  • Malay: kimiawi — relating to chemistry
  • Malay: kimia — relating to chemistry
  • Malayalam: രാസ (rāsa) — relating to chemistry
  • Maltese: kimiku — relating to chemistry
  • Marathi: रासायनिक (rāsāynik) — relating to chemistry
  • Norwegian Bokmål: kjemisk — relating to chemistry
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: kjemisk — relating to chemistry
  • Occitan: quimic — relating to chemistry
  • Persian: شیمیایی (šimiyâyi) — relating to chemistry
  • Polish: chemiczny — relating to chemistry
  • Portuguese: químico — relating to chemistry
  • Romanian: chimic — relating to chemistry
  • Russian: хими́ческий (ximíčeskij) — relating to chemistry
  • Serbo-Croatian: хе́мӣјскӣ — relating to chemistry
  • Serbo-Croatian: ке́мӣјскӣ — relating to chemistry
  • Serbo-Croatian: hémījskī — relating to chemistry
  • Serbo-Croatian: kémījskī — relating to chemistry
  • Slovak: chemický — relating to chemistry
  • Slovene: kemičen — relating to chemistry
  • Slovene: kemijski — relating to chemistry
  • Spanish: químico — relating to chemistry
  • Spanish: quimiquero — relating to chemistry
  • Swedish: kemisk — relating to chemistry
  • Tagalog: sangkapin — relating to chemistry
  • Tagalog: kimiko — relating to chemistry
  • Tajik: химиявӣ (ximiyavi) — relating to chemistry
  • Tajik: кимиёӣ (kimiyoyi) — relating to chemistry
  • Tajik: химикӣ (ximiki) — relating to chemistry
  • Telugu: రసాయన (rasāyana) — relating to chemistry
  • Turkish: kimyasal — relating to chemistry
  • Turkish: kimyevî — relating to chemistry
  • Turkmen: himiki — relating to chemistry
  • Turkmen: химики — relating to chemistry
  • Ukrainian: хімі́чний (ximíčnyj) — relating to chemistry
  • Uzbek: kimyoviy — relating to chemistry
  • Uzbek: кимёвий (kimyoviy) — relating to chemistry
  • Welsh: cemegol — relating to chemistry
  • Yiddish: כעמיש (khemish) — relating to chemistry
  • Afrikaans: chemikalie — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Azerbaijani: kimyəvi preparat — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Azerbaijani: kimyəvi birləşmə — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Azerbaijani: ximikat — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Bulgarian: химика́л (himikál) — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Chinese Mandarin: 化學物質 /化学物质 (huàxué wùzhí) — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Czech: chemikálie — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Danish: kemikalie — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Dutch: chemicalie — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Esperanto: ĥemiaĵo — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Esperanto: kemiaĵo — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Estonian: kemikaal — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Finnish: kemikaali — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Finnish: kemiallinen aine — any specific element or chemical compound
  • French: produit chimique — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Galician: produto químico — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Georgian: ქიმიკატი (kimiḳaṭi) — any specific element or chemical compound
  • German: Chemikalie — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Hebrew: כִימִיקָל (chimiqál) — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Hindi: रसायन (rasāyan) — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Hungarian: vegyszer — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Hungarian: vegyi anyag — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Hungarian: kemikália — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Italian: composto chimico — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Japanese: 化学物質 (kagaku busshitsu) — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Korean: 화학물질 (hwahangmuljil) — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Māori: pūmatū — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Marathi: रसायन (rasāyan) — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Portuguese: substância química — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Russian: химика́т (ximikát) — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Russian: хими́ческое соедине́ние (ximíčeskoje sojedinénije) — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Slovene: kemikalija — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Swahili: kemikali — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Swedish: kemikalie — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Tagalog: sangkap — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Tibetan: རྫས་འགྱུར (rdzas 'gyur) — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Welsh: cemegyn — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Welsh: cemegolyn — any specific element or chemical compound
  • Afrikaans: chemikalie — an artificial chemical compound
  • Azerbaijani: kimyəvi birləşmə — an artificial chemical compound
  • Danish: kemikalie — an artificial chemical compound
  • Finnish: kemikaali — an artificial chemical compound
  • Finnish: keinotekoinen kemikaali — an artificial chemical compound
  • French: produit chimique — an artificial chemical compound
  • Galician: produto químico — an artificial chemical compound
  • Georgian: ქიმიური ნაერთი (kimiuri naerti) — an artificial chemical compound
  • German: Chemikalie — an artificial chemical compound
  • Gujarati: રસાયણ (rasāyaṇ) — an artificial chemical compound
  • Hindi: रसायन (rasāyan) — an artificial chemical compound
  • Malay: bahan kimia — an artificial chemical compound
  • Portuguese: produto químico — an artificial chemical compound
  • Portuguese: química — an artificial chemical compound
  • Russian: хими́ческое соедине́ние (ximíčeskoje sojedinénije) — an artificial chemical compound
  • Slovene: kemikalija — an artificial chemical compound
  • Spanish: producto químico — an artificial chemical compound
  • Swahili: kemikali — an artificial chemical compound
  • Swedish: kemikalie — an artificial chemical compound
  • Turkish: kimyasal — an artificial chemical compound
  • Afrikaans: dwelm — an addictive drug
  • Dutch: verslavend middel — an addictive drug
  • Finnish: kova huume — an addictive drug
  • German: Chemikalie — an addictive drug
Real reading context

chemical in complete knowledge articles