Antiparallel

adj, noun

adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A line that forms equal angles with two other lines, but in opposite directions.
Adjective
  1. 1
    (of vectors) Parallel but in opposite directions.; Describing the orientations of the two strands of DNA. not-comparable

    "Upon interaction with ss- nucleic acid (NA) targets (deoxyribooligonucleotides (ODNs) or ribooligonucleotides), they form very stable anti-parallel and parallel duplexes [3 ], and the melting temperatures of the antiparallel duplexes are 10 to 15°C higher than those of the parallel duplexes."

  2. 2
    (of vectors) Parallel but in opposite directions.; Describing two beta strands comprising a protein's secondary structure that are aligned and hydrogen bonded but where the vectors describing the amino- and carboxy-terminal ends of each strand are oriented 180° relative to one another. not-comparable
Adjective
  1. 1
    (especially of vectors) parallel but oppositely directed wordnet

Example

More examples

"Upon interaction with ss- nucleic acid (NA) targets (deoxyribooligonucleotides (ODNs) or ribooligonucleotides), they form very stable anti-parallel and parallel duplexes [3 ], and the melting temperatures of the antiparallel duplexes are 10 to 15°C higher than those of the parallel duplexes."

Etymology

From anti- + parallel.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.