Which of the following best defines electronegativity?

Electronegativity is defined as a measure of an atom's ability to attract bonding electrons from another atom in a chemical bond. This concept is crucial in understanding the nature of chemical bonds, including whether a bond will be ionic, covalent, or polar covalent. An atom with high electronegativity effectively pulls the bonding electrons towards itself, influencing the distribution of electron density in the bond.

For instance, in a molecule like water (H₂O), the oxygen atom is more electronegative than hydrogen atoms, which results in a polar covalent bond. The oxygen atom attracts the shared electrons more strongly, creating a partial negative charge at the oxygen and partial positive charges at the hydrogen atoms. This characteristic of electronegativity helps to predict molecular behavior and reactivity.

The other options do not accurately capture the essence of electronegativity. The size of an atom relates to atomic radius rather than its ability to attract electrons. Ionization energy pertains to the energy required to remove an electron from an atom, while overall charge refers to the net charge of an atom or ion, which is not directly related to its ability to attract electrons in a bond. Thus, the definition that highlights the attraction of bonding electrons is the most relevant and