valence
valence Lexical Profile
valence Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The combining capacity of an atom, radical, or chemical element, determined by the number of electrons it will lose, add, or share when reacting with other atoms.
"Carbon has a valence of four, allowing it to form stable covalent bonds with a wide variety of other elements."
In psychology, the intrinsic attractiveness (positive valence) or aversiveness (negative valence) of an event, object, or emotional state.
"The researchers classified the words in the memory test according to their positive or negative emotional valence."
A city and commune in southeastern France, capital of the Drôme department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, situated on the left bank of the Rhône River.
In linguistics, the number and types of syntactic arguments (such as subject and direct or indirect objects) controlled by a verb or other predicate.
"Changing a verb from active to passive voice reduces its syntactic valence by removing the original subject argument."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse 'valence' (chemical combining capacity or emotional value) with its homophone 'valance' (a short decorative drapery hung across the top of a window or around a bedstead).
• Rhymes for valence
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Late Latin valentia ('strength, capacity'), derived from the Latin verb valere ('to be strong, be worth').
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.