Definition of "electronegative" [electronegative]

• Having a negative electric charge. (adjective)
• Tending to attract electrons to form a chemical bond. (adjective)
• Capable of acting as a negative electrode. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Neon for UI stuff is simply a reference to neon signs being brightly coloured and attracting the attention of people to tell them stuff, and Fluorine for gatewaying to the outside world because Fluorine has a very electronegative ion that binds aggressively to other atoms."
• "Here electropositive copper combines with electronegative oxygen but in a way that leaves the combination slightly electropositive, whereas electropositive sulphur combines with oxygen in a way that leaves the combination slightly electronegative."
• "If it has a greater affinity for oxygen than copper has, then the zinc must be either electropositive or electronegative to copper."