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Showing results for defoliant. Search instead for defoliants.
Synonyms

defoliant

American  
[dee-foh-lee-uhnt] / diˈfoʊ li ənt /

noun

  1. a preparation for defoliating plants.


defoliant British  
/ diːˈfəʊlɪənt /

noun

  1. a chemical sprayed or dusted onto trees to cause their leaves to fall, esp to remove cover from an enemy in warfare

"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

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.

See Examples For:

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

Speaking to an audience of veterans and lawmakers, Mr. Biden said it had taken years for researchers and lawmakers to better understand the harmful effects of Agent Orange, the defoliant used in the Vietnam War.

From New York Times ● Mar. 8, 2022

Calwell similarly sued Monsanto for damages he alleged it caused to homes in Nitro, West Virginia, with its use of dioxin to make the defoliant known during the Vietnam War era as Agent Orange.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 12, 2021

I consider what defoliant will work on both the harmless ground cover and the elephant leaves.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

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