substituent

[ suhb-stich-oo-uhnt ]

noun

1. Chemistry. an atom or atomic group that takes the place of another atom or group present in the molecule of the original compound.

adjective

1. having been or capable of being substituted.

substituent

/ sʌbˈstɪtjʊənt /

noun

1. chem an atom or group that replaces another atom or group in a molecule or can be regarded as replacing an atom in a parent compound

adjective

1. substituted or substitutable

Word History and Origins

Origin of substituent¹

1890–95; < Latin substituent- (stem of substituēns ), present participle of substituere to substitute, equivalent to sub- sub- + -stitu-, combining form of statuere to set up, erect ( statue ) + -ent- -ent

Word History and Origins

Origin of substituent¹

C19: from Latin substituere to substitute

Example Sentences

"Imagine you have a benzene ring and it has one substituent on it," Chikik added.

From Science Daily

Combining amide groups with fluorine atoms can be a particularly fruitful strategy for drug development — indeed, the bestselling drug of all time, cholesterol-reducing atorvastatin, contains both an amide and a fluorine substituent, albeit in different parts of the molecule.

From Nature

The withdrawal or addition of electron density by a substituent defines a particular pattern of electron density at the ortho, meta and para positions and primes them for directed attack by the reagent.

From Nature

Conversely, the CH–π and BH–π interactions were much less sensitive to the substituent effects, revealing that dispersion dominates in these attractions.

From Nature

The structure that was computed to determine Eint in each case is shown boxed at right; S is a variable substituent.

From Nature

More About Substituent

What does substituent mean?

Substituent is an adjective that can mean the same thing as substituted or substitutable (both of which are much more commonly used).

The word substitutable can mean capable of being used as a substitute, but it probably more often means capable of being replaced.

The related (and also uncommon) adjective substitutive is used to describe a thing capable of taking the place of or that has taken the place of another. (It can also be used to describe anything that involves such a substitution.)

Substituent is an adjective form of the word substitute, which can be used as both a verb (to replace something with another thing) or as a noun (something that replaces something else).

Substituent is more specifically and commonly used in the context of chemistry, in which it refers to an atom or group of atoms that replaces another atom or group of atoms in a molecule.

Example: The item you ordered is not substituent, so you will be issued a refund.

Where does substituent come from?

The first records of the word substituent come from the 1800s. It ultimately derives from the Latin verb substituere, meaning “to put in place of.”

Substituent is rarely used and can be confusing when it is. Even with context, it can be hard to tell whether it means “substituted” or “substitutable.” Those terms are more straightforward and much more commonly used.

In chemistry, a molecule is the smallest physical unit of an element or compound. In an element, a molecule consists of one or more of the same kind of atoms. In a compound, it consists of two or more different atoms. When some of these atoms or atom groups are replaced, the replacement atom or group is called a substituent. Such a chemical reaction is called a substitution reaction.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to substituent?

• substitute (verb)

What are some synonyms for substituent?

• substituted
• substitutable

What are some words that share a root or word element with substituent? 

• substitution
• substitutive
• constituent

What are some words that often get used in discussing substituent?

• replace
• replacement
• chemistry
• atom
• molecule
• element
• compound
• reaction

How is substituent used in real life?

Substituent is rarely used outside of chemistry.

As explained, all items are subject to availability and the store will process an evoucher that covers the difference in price if the substituent item costs more…1/2

— Sainsbury's (@sainsburys) June 16, 2018

Hammett has left the bond! Very exciting paper on through-space substituent effects on conformational equilibria and reaction rates from the Cockroft group @EdinburghChem. Well done @RebeccaBurns92, can't wait to see what's next from you! https://t.co/mCxeOlCJwk

— Marius Myreng Haugland (@mmhaugland) June 16, 2020

hello i’ve been spending a lot of time studying for this chem midterm🥺 wish me luck bc i just forgot that deuterium is NOT a substituent. ://// but staying positive 😊

— pau🐿 (@tedoymicielo) November 21, 2019

 

 

Try using substituent!

True or False? 

In chemistry, a substituent is the atom or atom group that gets replaced.