divalent

American

[dahy-vey-luhnt] / daɪˈveɪ lənt /

adjective

Chemistry.

having a valence of two, as the ferrous ion, Fe ++ .

divalent British

/ ˈdaɪˌveɪ-, daɪˈveɪlənt /

adjective

having a valency of two
having two valencies

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

divalence noun
divalency noun

Etymology

Origin of divalent

First recorded in 1865–70; di- ¹ + -valent

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Their strategy centered on the use of "divalent anions" such as oxygen and sulfur .

From Science Daily • Jan. 9, 2026

The researchers replaced the divalent copper in Egyptian blue with divalent chromium, leading to durable, reddish magenta pigments.

From Science Daily • Apr. 16, 2024

They are made of an A+ cation, a B2+ divalent cation, and an X- halide.

From Science Daily • Feb. 29, 2024

Unlike most salts of the alkali metals, many of the common salts of the alkaline earth metals are insoluble in water because of the high lattice energies of these compounds, containing a divalent metal ion.

From Textbooks • Feb. 14, 2019

As to the forces that held the chains together, the best guess seemed to be salt bridges in which divalent cations like Mg++ held together two or more phosphate groups.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023