Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A negatively charged ion, especially the ion that migrates to an anode in electrolysis.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In electricity, a term applied by Faraday to that element of an electrolyte which in electrochemical decompositions appears at the positive pole, or anode, as oxygen or chlorine.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Chem.) An electro-negative atom or group of atoms, or the element which, in electro-chemical decompositions, is evolved at the anode; -- opposed to cation.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An negatively charged ion.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a negatively charged ion

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From Greek, neuter present participle of anienai, to go up : ana-, ana- + ienai, to go; see ei- in Indo-European roots.]

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Examples

  • The molecule is a chain of eight carbons and a single hydrogen called the octatetraynyl anion C8H¯.

    The Panda's Thumb: Prebiotic Chemistry Archives 2010

  • The chemical conditions that define acidity are that acid anion concentrations (sulfate, nitrate, organic acids) are present in excess of concentrations of base cations (typically calcium or magnesium), the products of mineral weathering reactions that neutralize acidity in soil or rock.

    Acid rain 2010

  • But surely you understand that there is polarity in nature (cation/anion, stamen/pistil, male/female), a condition in which complimentary opposites exist in a synergistic fashion to produce and create.

    Spark plugs and transmissions Matthew Guerrieri 2008

  • Production of NADPH dropped by 30 percent and superoxide anion dropped by a whopping 74 percent.

    Odds and ends | The Blog of Michael R. Eades, M.D. 2009

  • Defective anion transport activity of the abnormal band 3 in hereditary ovalocytic red blood cells.

    Parasite Rex Carl Zimmer 2009

  • An atom that becomes negatively charged due to an excess of electrons is called an anion, a negatively charged ion.

    Elements 2009

  • Groundwater interactions with surface-water systems greatly influence water quality characteristics such as cation, anion, nutrient, and dissolved organic matter concentrations, and even the fate and behavior of toxic pollutants.

    Freshwater ecosystems in the Arctic 2009

  • My question is this: since BAS drugs operate via a non-absorbed, non-systemic action they are anion-exchange resins, are they at all dangerous?

    More statin madness | The Blog of Michael R. Eades, M.D. 2009

  • The ocean carbon cycle comprises a physical pump, a biological pump, and an alkalinity or anion pump.

    Carbon cycle and climate change in the Arctic 2009

  • An atom that becomes negatively charged due to an excess of electrons is called an anion, a negatively charged ion.

    Ion 2009

Comments

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  • JM is not cooking up some anion soup!

    December 10, 2010