The electronegativity of an atom describes how much an atom attracts an electron, whether it be in a covalent bond or just on its own.
We can characterize properties of a substance to identify it because it helps us determine how the substance should be used. We can identify a substance by using physical or chemical properties. These help us by telling us which chemical we are looking at.
I hope this helps.. I wasn't sure what kind of answer you were looking for.