formaldehyde

noun

formaldehyde

noun

/fɔː(ɹ)ˈmældɪhaɪd/

Etymology From form(yl) + aldehyde.

1

Chemistry, Natural sciences, Organic chemistry, Physical sciences The simplest aldehyde, HCHO, a colourless gas that has many industrial applications; it dissolves in water to give formol (10%) and formalin.

  • The shark chosen to replace the original was injected with 224 gallons of formaldehyde, ten times the amount used on the first shark and in a stronger concentration.2010, Don Thompson, The $12 Million Stuffed Shark, Aurum Press Limited, →ISBN:
  • Back in 2006, Hirst found himself at the centre of a different debate arising out of the need to refurbish or update formaldehyde pieces that are prone to decay. It related to the piece that made him famous: the formaldehyde shark The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (1991), which had been bought by the US hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen for $8m.2024 March 19, Maeve McClenaghan, “Damien Hirst formaldehyde animal works dated to 1990s were made in 2017”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
Synonyms
E240, methanal
Derived terms
deuteroformaldehyde, formose, metaformaldehyde, paraformaldehyde, phenol formaldehyde resin, polyformaldehyde, urea-formaldehyde
Related terms
formalin, formic acid, formol, thioformaldehyde
Hypernyms
aldehyde, volatile organic compound

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.