lachrymator

American  

[lak-ruh-mey-ter] / ˈlæk rəˌmeɪ tər /

Or lacrimator

noun

1. a chemical substance that causes the shedding of tears, as tear gas.

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lachrymator British  

/ ˈlækrɪˌmeɪtə /

noun

1. a variant spelling of lacrimator

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Etymology

Origin of lachrymator

1915–20; < Medieval Latin lacrimātor, equivalent to lacrimā ( re ) to shed tears ( see lachrymatory) + -tor -tor

Example Sentences

Despite the author's overfondness for obscure�and sometimes misspelled�words, such as lachrymator, ecdysize, catasta, edacious and vibrissae,* Filmore's wide-eyed discovery that stone walls do not a prison make has some fine moments of upside-down humor.

From Time Magazine Archive

Diphosgene or Trichlormethyl Chloroformate.—This substance was toxic, a lachrymator, and slightly persistent.

From The Riddle of the Rhine; chemical strategy in peace and war by Lefebure, Victor

Lachrymators.—There is hardly need to dwell on the next class, the lachrymator.

From The Riddle of the Rhine; chemical strategy in peace and war by Lefebure, Victor

The Allied lachrymator campaign was terribly handicapped by lack of bromine.

From The Riddle of the Rhine; chemical strategy in peace and war by Lefebure, Victor