Electrophile vs. Nucleophile

Electrophilenoun

(chemistry) a compound or functional group that is attractive to, and accepts electrons, especially accepting an electron pair from a nucleophile to form a bond

Electrophile

In chemistry, an electrophile is a chemical species that forms bonds with nucleophiles by accepting an electron pair. Because electrophiles accept electrons, they are Lewis acids.

Nucleophilenoun

(chemistry) A compound or functional group that is attractive to centres of positive charge, and donates electrons, especially donating an electron pair to an electrophile to form a bond.

Nucleophile

In chemistry, a nucleophile is a chemical species that forms bonds with electrophiles by donating an electron pair. All molecules and ions with a free pair of electrons or at least one pi bond can act as nucleophiles.