rotatory

[ roh-tuh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee ]

See synonyms for rotatory on Thesaurus.com

adjective

pertaining to or of the nature of rotation: rotatory motion.
rotating, as an object.

passing or following in rotation or succession.
causing rotation, as a muscle.

Origin of rotatory

1745–55; <New Latin rotātōrius, equivalent to Latin rotā(re) (see rotate¹) + -tōrius-tory¹

Other words from rotatory

un·ro·ta·to·ry, adjective

Words Nearby rotatory

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use rotatory in a sentence

This product is dextro-rotatory; the laevo and inactive modifications occur in the so-called baldrianic camphor.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 2 | Various
I have had no experience of the rotatory movements of earthquakes.
Travels in Peru, on the Coast, in the Sierra, Across the Cordilleras and the Andes, into the Primeval Forests | J. J. von Tschudi
This serious objection has been removed by imparting, by means of clock-work, a uniform rotatory motion to the reflector.
Smeaton and Lighthouses | John Smeaton
Yes truly, few men that worship by the rotatory Calabash of the Calmucks do it in half so great, frank or effectual a way.
Past and Present | Thomas Carlyle
Few men that worship by the rotatory Calabash, do it in half so great, frank or effectual a way.
Past and Present | Thomas Carlyle

British Dictionary definitions for rotatory

rotatory

less commonly rotative (ˈrəʊtətɪv)

/ (ˈrəʊtətərɪ, -trɪ) /

adjective

of, relating to, possessing, or causing rotation

Derived forms of rotatory

rotatively, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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