What is the term for the amount of energy required to break a covalent bond?

Bond dissociation energy refers to the amount of energy needed to break a covalent bond in a molecule, thereby separating the bonded atoms. It quantifies the strength of the bond; a higher bond dissociation energy indicates a stronger bond that requires more energy to break. This concept is fundamental in understanding the stability of molecules and the energy changes involved in chemical reactions.

The other terms relate to different energy concepts: activation energy is the minimum amount of energy required to initiate a chemical reaction, ionization energy refers to the energy needed to remove an electron from a gaseous atom or ion, and electronegativity is a measure of an atom's ability to attract and bond with electrons. Understanding these distinctions is important for grasping various aspects of chemical behavior.