noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A form of isomerism in which atoms are arranged differently about a chiral centre (or centre of asymmetry). They exhibit optical activity, and in a molecule with a single chiral centre the two isomers (enantiomers) are mirror images of each other whereas in a molecule with multiple chiral centres the isomers (diastereoisomers) are not normally mirror images. countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms

optical isomerismoptical isomerism

Etymology

From stereo- + isomerism.

Related phrases

geometric isomerismmirror imageoptical activitystructural isomerism

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