chiral
adjective
chi·ral
| \ ˈkī-rəl
\
\
Definition of chiral
: of or relating to a molecule that is not superimposable on its mirror image
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Other Words from chiral
chirality
\ kī-ˈra-lə-tē
, kÉ™- \
noun
, kÉ™- \
noun
Examples of chiral in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
As plants die, their chiral molecules die with them. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Alien Plant Hunter Taking First Steps on Earth. Next Stop: Jupiter," 22 Aug. 2019 Or did chemical and physical forces conspire to create chiral molecules before life arose? — Quanta Magazine, "Interstellar Find Adds Life to Old Debate," 20 June 2016 But the cross-chiral ribozyme binds based on the molecule’s shape rather than its sequence. — Quanta Magazine, "A New Step in Re-Creating First Life on Earth," 25 Aug. 2016 Geniuses of the past reveled in mechanical manifestations of chiral geometry, which are oddly beautiful as well as being useful. — Frank Wilczek, WSJ, "The Peculiar Power of Nature’s Left and Right," 5 July 2018 The other route is the chiral vortical symmetry, which requires that the plasma be rotating. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "Taking quark-gluon plasma for a spin may un-break a fundamental symmetry," 2 Aug. 2017 Today, pharmaceutical companies work harder to separate the active and inactive forms of molecules, and the Food and Drug Administration issued rules to crack down on many chiral drugs in the 1990s. — Joanna Klein, New York Times, "How Pasteur’s Artistic Insight Changed Chemistry," 14 June 2017 A primary inspiration was found in chemistry and chiral molecules, identically mirrored structures with different purposes. — Doug Bierend, WIRED, "This Movie Works Whether You Play It Backward or Forward," 12 Feb. 2014 The drug also contained a chiral molecule that caused disastrous side effects in many babies. — Joanna Klein, New York Times, "How Pasteur’s Artistic Insight Changed Chemistry," 14 June 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'chiral.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for chiral
chiral
adjective
chi·ral
| \ ˈkī-rəl
\
\
Medical Definition of chiral
1a
of a molecule
: having a structure that is nonsuperimposable on its mirror image
chiral molecules
b
: relating to or composed of chiral molecules
In discussions of chiral drugs, thalidomide is sometimes cited as a prime example of a drug that differs strikingly in the properties of its two enantiomers.— Stephen C. Stinson, Chemical & Engineering News, 19 Sept. 1994
2
: of, relating to, or being a chiral center
Other Words from chiral
chirality
\ kī-ˈral-ət-ē
\
noun,
plural chiralities
\
noun,
plural chiralities