Anion

//ˈænˌaɪ.ən// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A negatively charged ion.
  2. 2
    a negatively charged ion wordnet

Antonyms

All antonyms

Example

More examples

"A cation is a positively charged ion, with more protons than electrons, while an anion is negatively charged, with more electrons than protons."

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ἀνιόν (anión, “(thing) going up”), neuter present participle of ἄνειμι (áneimi, “go up”), from ἀνά (aná, “up”) + εἶμι (eîmi, “go”). Coined by English polymath William Whewell in 1834 for Michael Faraday, who introduced it later that year. By surface analysis, an- (“up, away, forward”) + ion.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.