wetting agent vs surface-active agent

wetting agent and surface-active agent both are nouns.

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

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

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

Other synonyms of wetting agent include surfactant, wetter.

wetting agent (noun)	surface-active 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