acetic anhydride

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noun Chemistry.

a colorless, pungent liquid, C4H6O3, the anhydride of acetic acid: used chiefly as a reagent and in the production of plastics, film, and fabrics derived from cellulose.

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Origin of acetic anhydride

First recorded in 1875–80

Words nearby acetic anhydride

acetate-CoA ligase, acetate rayon, acetazolamide, acetic, acetic acid, acetic anhydride, acetify, acetimeter, acetin, aceto-, acetoacetate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use acetic anhydride in a sentence

When treated with hydrochloric or acetic acid they slowly dissolve and rhombic crystals of uric acid appear.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Crystals of calcium oxalate are insoluble in acetic acid or caustic soda.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Upon addition of acetic acid they dissolve, and rhombic plates of uric acid appear.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Let dry, apply a cover-glass, and run glacial acetic acid underneath it.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd

It dissolves in dilute potash, and on the addition of acetic acid is deposited in a pure state.
Elements of Agricultural Chemistry|Thomas Anderson

British Dictionary definitions for acetic anhydride

acetic anhydride

noun

a colourless pungent liquid used in the manufacture of cellulose and vinyl acetates for synthetic fabrics. Formula: (CH 3 CO) 2 O

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012