How to Use potassium cyanide in a Sentence

potassium cyanide

noun
  • Lab results revealed that many of the pills had been swapped out with potassium cyanide tablets.
    — Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 26 Sep. 2022
  • Both sodium and potassium cyanide are solid salt compounds that can be dissolved in water.
    — Robert Anglen, The Arizona Republic, 6 June 2021
  • Five to seven milligrams of potassium cyanide can kill a person, and the pills were a far more potent 45 mg.
    — Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 26 Sep. 2022
  • Officials bought potassium cyanide instead of sodium cyanide.
    — Robert Anglen, The Arizona Republic, 11 May 2022
  • Officials bought potassium cyanide instead of sodium cyanide.
    — Jimmy Jenkins, The Arizona Republic, 5 Dec. 2024
  • Topsy was fed carrots laced with potassium cyanide, and her feet were placed in conductive copper sandals so she could be electrocuted.
    — Kat Eschner, Smithsonian, 4 Jan. 2017
  • In the fall of 1982, eight bottles of Tylenol in the Chicago area were found to be tainted with potassium cyanide.
    — Claire Malon, Chicago Tribune, 22 Sep. 2022
  • Seven people died within a few days, all having consumed Tylenol filled with potassium cyanide, in a murder spree that remains unsolved.
    — Mark Dent, HubSpot, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Redfearn alleged that James had ordered potassium cyanide, which investigators say is not used in dentistry.
    — Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 13 July 2025
  • In Luxembourg, a police officer had murdered his sister and her husband with potassium cyanide purchased on the site.
    — Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 22 Nov. 2022
  • And in 1978, potassium cyanide was mixed into fruit punch in the Jonestown mass murder-suicide in Guyana.
    — Meg Neal, Popular Mechanics, 4 Oct. 2020
  • The unknown poisoner in the Tylenol murders used potassium cyanide, which is 10 times more soluble than sodium cyanide.
    — Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 26 Sep. 2022
  • William Orpet was tried for murder but was found not guilty by jury after the substance found that killed Lambert was potassium cyanide, not liquid cyanide.
    — Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 10 Feb. 2026
  • McLemore killed himself while the podcast was still in production, drinking potassium cyanide in 2015.
    — Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 3 July 2022
  • In all, authorities recovered eight bottles of Tylenol that contained capsules spiked with potassium cyanide.
    — Chicago Tribune, 29 Sep. 2022
  • Seven people in the Chicago area died in late 1982 after taking capsules filled with potassium cyanide.
    — Marianne Mather, Chicago Tribune, 27 Oct. 2022
  • The documentary reveals that potassium cyanide was used it a quality control tests of Tylenol and was found in the vicinity of where the pills were assembled.
    — Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 28 May 2025
  • That business partner said Craig had recently ordered potassium cyanide and there was no reason for that chemical to be at a dental practice, the affidavit says.
    — Marlene Lenthang, NBC News, 20 Mar. 2023
  • The unsolved Chicago-area deaths occurred after the over-the-counter Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules were laced with potassium cyanide.
    — Chris Boyette, CNN, 10 July 2023
  • He was accused of killing Angela, the mother of his six children, by dosing her with potassium cyanide between March 6 and March 15.
    — Michael Lee Simpson, Peoplemag, 13 July 2023
  • Their specialty was untraceable poisons delivered by ingenious weapons—such as a cigarette packet made in 1954 that could fire bullets filled with potassium cyanide.
    — Amanda Foreman, WSJ, 6 Sep. 2018
  • Investigators found the account had been used to place online orders for some of the poisons from those searches, including arsenic and potassium cyanide, according to the affidavit, which provided a timeline.
    — Andi Babineau, CNN Money, 10 July 2025
  • Johnson & Johnson landed in a crisis in 1982 when seven people in the Chicago area died after taking Tylenol that was found to be laced with potassium cyanide.
    — Michael L. Diamond, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
  • According to reports, the unknown killer bought Extra-Strength Tylenol from six different stores in the Chicago area and packed the capsules with large doses of deadly potassium cyanide.
    — Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 25 May 2025
  • Craig ultimately ordered arsenic, which was delivered to the family's home; potassium cyanide to his office; and a toxic plant extract called oleandrin, according to authorities.
    — Rebecca Rosenberg, Fox News, 23 Mar. 2023
  • Craig is charged with first-degree murder in the death of wife Angela, who prosecutors allege died from potassium cyanide and tetrahydrozoline poisoning after an agonizing week-and-a-half in and out of the hospital.
    — Peter D'abrosca, FOXNews.com, 19 July 2025
  • During the trial, prosecutors said James Craig had poisoned his wife over the span of 10 days with arsenic, potassium cyanide, and tetrahydrozoline, a form of a medicine that is found in over-the-counter eye drops and nasal sprays.
    — Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 31 July 2025
  • The office manager contacted another colleague with information about the potassium cyanide package after Angela went to the hospital a third time with the same symptoms, according to the warrant.
    — Daniella Silva, NBC News, 23 Mar. 2023
  • According to the arrest affidavit, Craig is suspected of slipping potassium cyanide and arsenic into Angela's pre-workout shake beginning the morning of March 6.
    — Tristan Balagtas, Peoplemag, 22 Mar. 2023
  • After interviews with employees of the dental practice where James Craig worked, police learned that a package containing potassium cyanide arrived there on March 13, the affidavit says.
    — Praveena Somasundaram, Washington Post, 21 Mar. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'potassium cyanide.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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