Fluoroalkoxyarenes can be reduced in liquid ammonia via an irreversible stepwise mechanism. In the case of trifluoromethoxyarenes, the trifluoromethoxyl group behaves as a leaving group and the substrate is reduced into the arene. Conversely, the reduction of a difluoromethoxyarene such as difluoromethoxybenzonitrile does not involve the cleavage of the fluoromethoxyl group but follows the same kind of mechanism as that observed in the reduction of trifluoromethylarenes : the two carbon-fluorine bonds are cleaved at the level of the first reduction wave to yield methoxybenzonitrile.