conformation

English

Rotation about single bond of butane to interconvert one conformation to another. The staggered conformation on the right is a conformer, while the eclipsed conformation on the left is a transition state between conformers. Above: Newman projection; below: depiction of spatial orientation.

Etymology

From Latin confōrmātiō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɑnfɚˈmeɪʃən/, /kɑn.foʊɹˈmeɪʃən/
• Rhymes: -eɪʃən
• Homophone: confirmation (in some dialects)

• Audio (UK)

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Noun

conformation (countable and uncountable, plural conformations)

1. The act of conforming; the act of producing conformity.
2. The state of being conformed; agreement
   • 1866, William Lobscheid, Chinese Emigration to the West Indies:

     I was much struck with the gaiety of the creoles , whose exterior told a stranger that education had been doing something among them in these solitudes ; and as all the parties kissed the Bible in conformation with the law of England

4. Structure, the arrangement of parts of some thing; form; arrangement.
   • 1853, David Low, On the Domesticated Animals of the British Islands:

     One may see well the advantages of this form from the coach - box of our heavily - loaded public vehicles , where animals of different conformation are yoked together

5. (chemistry) The spatial arrangement of a group of atoms in a molecule as a result of rotation about a covalent bond which remains unbroken.
   • 1980, Bernard Miller, Organic Chemistry, the Basis of Life:

     The more stable conformation has the methyl group in an equatorial position , since this minimizes repulsions between axial substituents

Synonyms

• (act of conforming): conformance

Derived terms

• boat conformation
• chair conformation
• chromosome conformation capture

 

Related terms

• conform
• conformity

Translations

the act of conforming; the act of producing conformity

• Bulgarian: приспособяване (bg) n (prisposobjavane), подчинение (bg) n (podčinenie)
• Hungarian: alkalmazkodás (hu)

the state of being conformed; agreement; hence; structure

• Bulgarian: строеж (bg) m (stroež), устройство (bg) n (ustrojstvo), форма (bg) f (forma)
• Hungarian: alakzat (hu), szerkezet (hu), struktúra (hu)
• Italian: conformazione (it) f

See also

• allostery
• configuration

Further reading

• Conformational isomerism on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

French

Noun

conformation f (plural conformations)

1. conformation

Further reading

• “conformation”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Interlingua

Noun

conformation (plural conformationes)

1. conformation