1. A chemical compound or group that is attracted to electrons and tends to accept electrons: An electrophile is a molecule, or compound, that doesn’t have enough electrons and will tend to take them from another molecule, or compound, with an excess of electrons.

An electrophile, or a chemical species with an affinity for electrons, is reactive with species rich in electrons.

An ion or molecule that is an electrophile has a partial or complete positive charge, so that it can accept an electron pair or share an electron pair with another atom.