Abstract Rate data are reported for the reactions of 2-chloro-5-nitropyridine 2a, 2-chloro-3- nitropyridine 2b, and the corresponding 2-phenoxy derivatives 2c with n-butylamine, pyrrolidine and piperidine and 2d with n-butylamine and pyrrolidine in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as solvent. The same reactions in acetonitrile had been reported earlier (Crampton et al., Eur J Org Chem 2007, 1378–1383). Values in these solvents are compared with ...