In chemistry, __________ is a measure of an atom's ability to attract shared electrons in a molecule.

Electronegativity is the term that describes how strongly an atom pulls on the electrons it shares with another atom in a chemical bond. When an atom has a high electronegativity, it tends to pull the shared electrons toward itself, making the bond more polarized. This property explains why oxygen in water pulls the shared electrons toward itself, giving water a slight negative charge on the oxygen side and a positive charge on the hydrogen side. The concept is useful for predicting how atoms will interact in molecules and why some bonds are polar while others are not. Thus, electronegativity is a key measure of an atom's ability to attract shared electrons in a molecule.