Having the property of attracting electrons strongly; tending to gain electrons and form negative ions in chemical reactions.
From electro- + negative (Latin 'negativus'). Coined in chemistry in the 19th century to describe how atoms in molecules compete for electrons.
Oxygen is super electronegative—it pulls electrons away from hydrogen atoms, which is why water's oxygen end is slightly negative and the hydrogen end slightly positive, creating the polarity that makes water dissolve almost everything.
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