noun · 4 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
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Received-Pronunciation:/ˈfiːnɒl/
General-American:/ˈfiˌnɔl/
General-American:/ˈfiˌnɑl/
General-American:/ˈfiˌnoʊl/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:F IY1 N AA0 L
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
CMU ARPABET 2:F EH1 N AH0 L
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A caustic, poisonous, white crystalline compound, C6H5OH, derived from benzene and used in resins, plastics, and pharmaceuticals and in dilute form as a disinfectant and antiseptic; once called carbolic acid
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
a toxic white soluble crystalline acidic derivative of benzene; used in manufacturing and as a disinfectant and antiseptic; poisonous if taken internally
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bheh2-der. Proto-Hellenic *pháňňō Ancient Greek φαίνω (phaínō)der. French phènebor. English phenol From French phène, from Ancient Greek φαίνω (phaínō, “to clear”), as it was used for illumination, name given by Auguste Laurente in 1836. By surface analysis, pheno- + -ol.
Across languages
Translations
54 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
فِينُول
(fīnūl)
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Arabic:
أَسْفَنِيك
(ʔasfanīk)
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Bulgarian:
фенол
(fenol)
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Catalan:
fenol
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Catalan:
hidroxibenzè
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Chinese Cantonese:
苯酚
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Chinese Mandarin:
苯酚
(běnfēn)
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Czech:
fenol
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Finnish:
fenoli
— caustic compound derived from benzene
French:
phénol
— caustic compound derived from benzene
German:
Phenol
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Greek:
φαινόλη
(fainóli)
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Gujarati:
દર્શવ
(darśav)
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Hindi:
दर्शव
(darśav)
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Hungarian:
fenol
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Irish:
feanól
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Italian:
fenolo
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Japanese:
フェノール
(fenōru)
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Japanese:
石炭酸
(sekitansan)
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Korean:
페놀
(penol)
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Korean:
석탄산
(seoktansan)
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Occitan:
fenol
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Persian:
فنول
(fenol)
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Polish:
fenol
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Portuguese:
fenol
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Russian:
фено́л
(fenól)
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Spanish:
fenol
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Swedish:
fenol
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Tagalog:
penol
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Turkish:
fenol
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Ukrainian:
фено́л
(fenól)
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Vietnamese:
phenol
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Welsh:
ffenol
— caustic compound derived from benzene
Arabic:
فِينُول
(fīnūl)
— any of a class of aromatic organic compounds having at least one hydroxyl group attached directly to the benzene ring
Bulgarian:
фенол
(fenol)
— any of a class of aromatic organic compounds having at least one hydroxyl group attached directly to the benzene ring
Catalan:
fenol
— any of a class of aromatic organic compounds having at least one hydroxyl group attached directly to the benzene ring
Chinese Cantonese:
酚
(fan1)
— any of a class of aromatic organic compounds having at least one hydroxyl group attached directly to the benzene ring
Chinese Mandarin:
酚
(fēn)
— any of a class of aromatic organic compounds having at least one hydroxyl group attached directly to the benzene ring
Czech:
fenol
— any of a class of aromatic organic compounds having at least one hydroxyl group attached directly to the benzene ring
Finnish:
fenoli
— any of a class of aromatic organic compounds having at least one hydroxyl group attached directly to the benzene ring
French:
phénol
— any of a class of aromatic organic compounds having at least one hydroxyl group attached directly to the benzene ring
German:
Phenol
— any of a class of aromatic organic compounds having at least one hydroxyl group attached directly to the benzene ring
Hindi:
दर्शव
(darśav)
— any of a class of aromatic organic compounds having at least one hydroxyl group attached directly to the benzene ring
Italian:
fenolo
— any of a class of aromatic organic compounds having at least one hydroxyl group attached directly to the benzene ring
Japanese:
フェノール
(fenōru)
— any of a class of aromatic organic compounds having at least one hydroxyl group attached directly to the benzene ring
Korean:
페놀
(penol)
— any of a class of aromatic organic compounds having at least one hydroxyl group attached directly to the benzene ring
Occitan:
fenol
— any of a class of aromatic organic compounds having at least one hydroxyl group attached directly to the benzene ring
Polish:
fenol
— any of a class of aromatic organic compounds having at least one hydroxyl group attached directly to the benzene ring
Portuguese:
fenol
— any of a class of aromatic organic compounds having at least one hydroxyl group attached directly to the benzene ring
Russian:
фено́л
(fenól)
— any of a class of aromatic organic compounds having at least one hydroxyl group attached directly to the benzene ring
Spanish:
fenol
— any of a class of aromatic organic compounds having at least one hydroxyl group attached directly to the benzene ring
Swedish:
fenol
— any of a class of aromatic organic compounds having at least one hydroxyl group attached directly to the benzene ring
Vietnamese:
phenol
— any of a class of aromatic organic compounds having at least one hydroxyl group attached directly to the benzene ring
Welsh:
ffenol
— any of a class of aromatic organic compounds having at least one hydroxyl group attached directly to the benzene ring
