Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Nitrile
Ni′trile
(? or ?)
, Noun.
[See
Nitro-
.] (Chem.)
Any one of a series of compounds bearing the cyanide radical (
-CN
); particularly, one of those cyanides of alcohol radicals which, by boiling with acids or alkalies, produce a carboxyl acid, with the elimination of the nitrogen as ammonia. Amyl nitrite
, a yellow oily volatile liquid, used in medicine as a depressant and a vaso-dilator. Its inhalation produces an instantaneous flushing of the face.