xylene

From xyl- +‎ -ene.

• IPA^(key): /ˈzaɪliːn/

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• Rhymes: -aɪliːn

xylene (countable and uncountable, plural xylenes)

1. (chemistry) Any of a group of three isomeric aromatic hydrocarbons, found in coal and wood tar.

   Synonym: dimethylbenzene

   • 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 262:

     […] proceeding, desperately, from such opiated catarrh preparations as Collis Brown's Mixture on to cocainized brain tonics, cigarettes soaked in absinthe, xylene in unventilated rooms, and so on […]