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• paraquat
  paraquat

  noun

  a toxic herbicide, C 1 2 H 1 4 N 2 ⋅2CH 3 SO 4 , applied to food and flower crops and to highway borders as a defoliant and weed-killer.
• Paraquat
  Paraquat

  noun

  a yellow extremely poisonous soluble solid used in solution as a weedkiller

paraquat

American  

[par-uh-kwaht] / ˈpær əˌkwɑt /

noun

Chemistry.

1. a toxic herbicide, C 1 2 H 1 4 N 2 ⋅2CH 3 SO 4 , applied to food and flower crops and to highway borders as a defoliant and weed-killer.

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Paraquat British  

/ ˈpærəˌkwɒt /

noun

1. a yellow extremely poisonous soluble solid used in solution as a weedkiller

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paraquat Scientific  

/ păr′ə-kwŏt′ /

1. A toxic compound used as a herbicide, especially in its colorless, dichloride form (C ₁₂ H ₁₄ Cl ₂ N ₂) or in its yellow, bismethyl sulfate form (C ₁₄ H ₂₀ N ₂ O ₈ S ₂). Paraquat is used primarily to control grass and weeds. Its use in the United States is restricted because of its high level of toxicity.

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Etymology

Origin of paraquat

1960–65; para- ¹ + quat(ernary), in reference to the bond between the two pyridyl groups, which is in the para position with respect to their quaternary nitrogen atoms

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

paraquat Paraquat

That reevaluation identified a potential association between paraquat exposure and thyroid impacts and birth defects.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

“California is sending a powerful message that there is no place for paraquat in modern agriculture,” said Bernadette Del Chiaro, senior vice president of the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, which sponsored Friedman’s legislation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

“For years, communities have fought to end the use of paraquat, a weedkiller associated with negative impacts to human health and wildlife,” said California Secretary for Environmental Protection Yana Garcia in a statement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

“We paid thousands of dollars to have it analyzed. … I mean, the paraquat thing was totally scientifically wrong.”

From Slate ● Dec. 23, 2025

The federal government banned the use of the weedkiller paraquat on golf courses in 2021.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025

Paraquat is banned in more than 60 countries due to its toxicity but is still allowed in the U.S., and no state uses more of it than California.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

Paraquat is a herbicide commonly used on farms and in yards for weed control.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025

Paraquat has been the subject of thousands of lawsuits from people seeking damages related to exposure to the product, including people who say it has given them Parkinson’s disease, a neurodegenerative disorder that affects movement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2024

Last month, its draft report said the benefits of using Paraquat outweighed the health risks but that it had still to look at 90 submissions, including scientific studies, concerning the risks of Parkinson's.

From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2024

Syngenta insists there is no evidence of a Parkinson's link to the toxic Paraquat, which is made in the UK.

From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2024

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Related Words

• defoliant
• fungicide
• insecticide
• pesticide

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