chemtrail

[kem-treyl]

noun

1. an alleged type of long-lasting contrail speculated to be purposefully impregnated, for covert purposes, with chemical or biological agents.

Word History and Origins

Origin of chemtrail¹

First recorded in 1985–90; chem(ical) ( def. ) + trail ( def. ), modeled on contrail ( def. )

Example Sentences

Tune in for the alien angle, or the chemtrail pitch after the weather.

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But the idea evolved along the way, meaning today there are several strands of the chemtrail theory.

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Chemtrail influencers are highly active on platforms such as Facebook and Telegram, where they discuss the day's alleged "spraying" and track aircraft.

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Chemtrail social media groups also often contain anti-vaccine posts and promote climate change denialism, feeding off of an uptick in conspiracy thinking during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the rise of the QAnon conspiracy theory during the Trump presidency.

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Like other conspiracy theorists, chemtrail enthusiasts also latch on to news events to push their agenda, for instance in messages like this posted during the recent UK heatwave:

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