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covalently

covalently

1 7.0
In a way that atoms share pairs of electrons to form chemical bonds
  • adverb
  • /koʊˈveɪləntli/
  • Specialized
: covalentemente
  • Because silicon is a covalently bonded material, the creation of a surface leads to broken bonds.

Examples

  • Unlike colloidal gold probes that shed some of their antibodies, Nanogold is covalently linked to Fab' fragments.

    Academic text (1993)
  • You know that, you know, carbon is very strongly covalently bonded to itself.

  • In other words, in nature, the claimed isolated DNAs are covalently bonded to such other materials.

    Blog text (8)
  • PS refers to a covalently joined sugar phosphate backbone.

  • Glycosaminoglycans are covalently linked to peptide chains to form high-molecular-weight complexes called proteoglycans.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Further complicating the issue, there are also sugars—disaccharides—that are compounds made of two monosaccharides covalently bound together.

    Blog text (5)
  • Each atom is covalently bonded to each of its four nearest neighbors; that is, each silicon atom shares its four valence electrons with the four neighboring atoms, forming four covalent bonds.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Thus, when cleaved, an isolated DNA molecule is not a purified form of a natural material, but a distinct chemical entity that is obtained by human intervention. "So one accepted method of showing that your molecule is a distinct composition of matter, per this decision, would be to show that the natural product is a larger molecule with additional groups covalently bonded to the structure of your claimed invention.

    Blog text (8)
  • A water molecule is formed when two atoms of hydrogen bond covalently with an atom of oxygen.

  • Because silicon is a covalently bonded material, the creation of a surface leads to broken bonds.

Surface Forms

covalently positive

Morphology

covalently = covalent (semi-transparent) = co + valent + ly

Forming an adverb from the adjective 'covalent' with the productive suffix '-ly' is a regular and easily recognized process for learners.

Etymology

Covalently comes from co- meaning 'together' and valent from a root meaning 'strength' or 'power', a bit like the word valid. So to bond covalently is for atoms to 'join together' by sharing their combining power, which in chemistry means they share pairs of electrons.