Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

covalent

/koʊˈveɪ.lənt/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.65 in modern English

Syllables: co-va-lent
IPA: /koʊˈveɪ.lənt/

13

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Containing or characterized by a covalent bond.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Latin con- Latin co-lbor. English co- English valent English covalent From co- + valent.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /koʊˈveɪ.lənt/
British English: /kəʊˈveɪ.lənt/

Inflected Forms

more covalent (comparative) most covalent (superlative)

Derived Forms

bicovalent covalently ionocovalent monocovalent noncovalent pentacovalent

Phrases

covalent compound covalent radius

Frequently Paired Words

covalency covalence

Rhymes With

galant tallent tallant

Questions

How do you pronounce covalent?: The recorded pronunciation is /koʊˈveɪ.lənt/.
What does covalent mean?: Containing or characterized by a covalent bond.
Where does covalent come from?: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Latin con- Latin co-lbor. English co- English valent English covalent From co- + valent.

How to pronounce covalent

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “covalent”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/koʊˈveɪ.lənt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “covalent”.
Repeat and practice — Say “covalent” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.