tautomerism

American

[taw-tom-uh-riz-uhm] / tɔˈtɒm əˌrɪz əm /

noun

Chemistry.

the ability of certain organic compounds to react in isomeric structures that differ from each other in the position of a hydrogen atom and a double bond.

tautomerism British

/ tɔːˈtɒməˌrɪzəm /

noun

the ability of certain chemical compounds to exist as a mixture of two interconvertible isomers in equilibrium See also keto-enol tautomerism

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of tautomerism

First recorded in 1880–85; tauto- + (iso)merism

Example Sentences

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tautomerism

By experiments conducted with the hydroxy- pyridines he believed that he had demonstrated a relation between tautomerism or changed space relations in these sort of substances and curative properties.

From The Vitamine Manual by Walter H. Eddy

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023