surface-active agent vs wetting agent

surface-active agent and wetting agent both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
surface-active agent	Yes	No	No	No
wetting agent	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, surface-active agent and wetting agent are synonyms defined as:

surface-active agent and wetting agent: a chemical agent capable of reducing the surface tension of a liquid in which it is dissolved

Other synonyms of surface-active agent include surfactant, wetter.

surface-active agent (noun)	wetting agent (noun)
a chemical agent capable of reducing the surface tension of a liquid in which it is dissolved	a chemical agent capable of reducing the surface tension of a liquid in which it is dissolved