aromatic compound

American  

noun

Chemistry.

1. an organic compound that contains one or more benzene or equivalent heterocyclic rings: many such compounds have an agreeable odor.

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Etymology

Origin of aromatic compound

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

For many years, chemists knew of only one silicon based aromatic compound.

From Science Daily • Feb. 24, 2026

The researchers replaced the carbon atoms in an aromatic compound -- a class of exceptionally stable molecules in organic chemistry -- with silicon atoms.

From Science Daily • Feb. 24, 2026

By deleting or adding selected genes, they engineered strains that produced zeaxanthin as well as other valuable carotenoids -- beta-carotene, lycopene and astaxanthin -- when grown on an aromatic compound commonly found in lignin.

From Science Daily • Dec. 21, 2023

The phytochemical that gives cinnamon its distinctive smell and its rich woody flavor is the aromatic compound cinnamaldehyde.

From Salon • Jun. 20, 2023

The presence of nitro groups in a substance increases the difficulty of further nitration, and in any case not more than three nitro groups can be introduced into an aromatic compound, or the phenols.

From Nitro-Explosives: A Practical Treatise by Sanford, P. Gerald (Percy Gerald)