methanol
[U] Uncountable
This substance carries a dangerous connotation of toxicity and blindness. In a professional laboratory or industrial setting, it is viewed as a high-efficiency solvent or fuel, but in a domestic or medical context, it is treated as a lethal poison. It is strictly distinguished from ethanol (drinking alcohol). While they smell and look similar, the metabolic byproduct of methanol is formic acid, which attacks the optic nerve, making the word synonymous with chemical danger in safety manuals.
Used to describe the chemical substance as a mass, such as when measuring a volume of methanol in a beaker.