enantiomer

American  

[ih-nan-tee-uh-mer] / ɪˈnæn ti ə mər /

noun

Chemistry.

1. either of a pair of optical isomers that are mirror images of each other.

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enantiomer British  

/ ɛnˈæntɪəmə /

noun

1. chem a molecule that exhibits stereoisomerism because of the presence of one or more chiral centres

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enantiomer Scientific  

/ ĭ-năn′tē-ə-mər /

1. Either of two stereoisomers that are mirror images of one another but cannot be superimposed on one another and that rotate the plane of polarized light in opposite directions. Enantiomers usually behave the same chemically but differ in optical behavior and sometimes in how quickly they react with other enantiomers.

2. Also called optical isomer enantiomorph

3. Compare geometric isomer

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Etymology

Origin of enantiomer

enantio- + -mer

Compare meaning

How does enantiomer compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• isomer vs. enantiomer

Example Sentences

Although researchers have previously reported laboratory synthesis of heitziamide A, they had not accomplished the total asymmetric synthesis of its naturally occurring enantiomer.

From Science Daily • Feb. 27, 2026

D-BPA is the enantiomer of L-BPA, meaning that its molecular structure is the mirror image of L-BPA but it is otherwise chemically identical.

From Science Daily • Dec. 3, 2024

Moreover, the experiments showed that the selection -- the preference for one or the other enantiomer -- not only occurs during the binding on the cobalt islands, but already beforehand.

From Science Daily • Feb. 20, 2024

Such compounds are known as enantiomers - if the pharmaceutically-effective enantiomer becomes its mirror image, this can prevent certain drugs from binding in people's bodies.

From BBC • Jan. 5, 2018

Producing and selecting the right enantiomer is crucial.

From Scientific American • Oct. 4, 2013