Standard Lemma guide

nucleophile

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

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Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A compound or functional group that is attractive to centres of positive charge, and donates electrons, especially donating an electron pair to an electrophile to form a bond.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: chemistry, natural-sciences, physical-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From nucleo- + -phile.

Across languages

Translations

5 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Czech: nukleofil — compound or functional group attractive to centres of positive charge
  • German: Nukleophil — compound or functional group attractive to centres of positive charge
  • Japanese: 求核剤 (kyūkakuzai) — compound or functional group attractive to centres of positive charge
  • Persian: هستهدوست (haste-dust) — compound or functional group attractive to centres of positive charge
  • Russian: нуклеофил (nukleofil) — compound or functional group attractive to centres of positive charge