Standard Lemma guide

zwitterion

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.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /ˈtsvɪtəɹ.aɪən/
  • /ˈzwɪtəɹ.aɪən/
  • /ˈtswɪtəɹ.aɪən/
  • UK: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A molecule, such as an amino acid, that carries both a positive and a negative charge.

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

Unadapted borrowing from German Zwitterion, from Zwitter (“hermaphrodite”) + Ion (“ion”).

Across languages

Translations

19 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: أيون مزدوج — molecule that carries both a positive and a negative charge
  • Catalan: zwitterió — molecule that carries both a positive and a negative charge
  • Chinese Mandarin: 兩性離子 /两性离子 (liǎngxìng lízǐ) — molecule that carries both a positive and a negative charge
  • Estonian: tsvitterioon — molecule that carries both a positive and a negative charge
  • Finnish: kahtaisioni — molecule that carries both a positive and a negative charge
  • Finnish: zwitterioni — molecule that carries both a positive and a negative charge
  • French: zwitterion — molecule that carries both a positive and a negative charge
  • Galician: zwitterión — molecule that carries both a positive and a negative charge
  • German: Zwitterion — molecule that carries both a positive and a negative charge
  • Hungarian: ikerion — molecule that carries both a positive and a negative charge
  • Italian: zwitterione — molecule that carries both a positive and a negative charge
  • Polish: jon obojnaczy — molecule that carries both a positive and a negative charge
  • Polish: zwitterjon — molecule that carries both a positive and a negative charge
  • Portuguese: zwitterion — molecule that carries both a positive and a negative charge
  • Portuguese: zwitteríon — molecule that carries both a positive and a negative charge
  • Portuguese: zwitterião — molecule that carries both a positive and a negative charge
  • Russian: цви́ттер-ио́н (cvítter-ión) — molecule that carries both a positive and a negative charge
  • Spanish: zwitterión — molecule that carries both a positive and a negative charge
  • Swedish: zwitterjon — molecule that carries both a positive and a negative charge