In the original meaning a conjugated system is a molecular entity whose structure may be represented as a system of alternating single and multiple bonds: e.g. $\ce{CH2=CH–CH=CH2}$, $\ce{CH2=CH–C#N}$. In such systems, conjugation is the interaction of one p-orbital with another across an intervening $\ce{\upsigma\!\mbox{-}bond}$ in such structures. (In appropriate molecular entities d-orbitals may be involved.) The term is also extended to the analogous interaction involving a p-orbital containing an unshared electron pair, e.g. $\ce{{:}Cl–CH=CH2}$.