defoliant
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of defoliant
First recorded in 1940–45; defoli(ate) + -ant
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
More than half of that spraying involved the dioxin-contaminated defoliant Agent Orange.
From Salon • Apr. 30, 2025
Some deforestation can be traced back to the Vietnam War, when forests were sprayed with the toxic defoliant known as Agent Orange.
From National Geographic • Dec. 20, 2023
He returned regularly to Vietnam after the war to shoot assignments, run photo workshops and photograph victims of Agent Orange, a carcinogenic defoliant sprayed by the American military to clear jungles there.
From New York Times • Aug. 24, 2022
Army, fought in Vietnam and dealt for years with post-traumatic stress disorder and the effects of exposure to the defoliant Agent Orange, he said.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 27, 2022
Ellsberg knew the cause—American planes buzzed 150 feet above the treetops, spraying a defoliant known as Agent Orange.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.