Scrabble?! CARBANIONS

Definitions of CARBANIONS in various dictionaries:

A carbanion is an anion in which carbon is trivalent (forms three bonds) and bears a formal negative charge in at least one significant mesomeric contributor (resonance form). Absent π delocalization, carbanions assume a trigonal pyramidal, bent, or linear geometry when the carbanionic carbon is bound to three (e.g., methyl anion), two (e.g., phenyl anion), or one (e.g., acetylide anion) substituents, respectively. Formally, a carbanion is the conjugate base of a carbon acid: R3CH + B− → R3C− + HBwhere B stands for the base. A carbanion is one of several reactive intermediates in organic chemistry. In organic synthesis, organolithium reagents and Grignard reagents are commonly regarded as carbanions. This is a convenient approximation, although these species are almost always multinuclear clusters containing polar covalent bonds rather than true carbanions.