Universal Solvent Definition. Water is a universal solvent because no other liquid can dissolve any substance the way water does. Properties Of Water Water Experiments Homeschool Science Experiments Science Activities We know water is polar in nature thus water dissolves more chemicals than. . Only polar molecules and ions such as sugars and salts can be dissolved by water. This allows the water molecule to become attracted to. Answer 1 of 2. In water molecules their arrangement is in a polar way as oxygen has a negative charge and hydrogen has a positive electrical charge. Of course it cannot dissolve everything but it does dissolve more substances than any other liquid so the term fits pretty well. There is no such known solvent that can dissolve all available solutes. We generally refer to liquids as solvent but it may also be in solid or gaseous state. Water is the substance that we refer to as the uni...