I am a chemist, and I was writing the following sentence:
"The solvent mixture was non-polar due to the minimum amount of dipole-dipole forces in both constituents".
Constituents here was meant to refer to two compounds, molecules etc.
However generally I tend to use the word substituents, but looking up the definitions (just from dictionary.com), I now wonder if I am misusing this word.
So for constituent:
adjective
1.
serving to compose or make up a thing; component:
the constituent parts of a motor.
For substituent:
noun
3.
a constituent element, material, etc.; component.
So for substituent:
noun
1.
(chem) an atom or group that replaces another atom or group in a molecule or can be regarded as replacing an atom in a parent compound.
Interestingly, something I never noticed is that substituent doesn't seem to be used outside a chemistry context, while constituent is widely used.
So my questions, in short:
1) Is there another context where substituent may be used?
2) How interchangeable are substituent and constituent?
Best Answer
A quick search for the definition of the word substituent shows
In the world outside of chemistry the word substitute is used and not substituent. It means
Now, consider constituent
An element A can be a constituent of a compound if the compound was formed initially with the element A or has substituted another element B. So, a substituent (element A) is a current constituent of a compound that has substituted another (element B).
Personally, I would use substitute in everyday conversation and not substituent, except in chemistry related topics.