dextrorotatory

adj

"dextrorotatory" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“dextrorotatory” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
14
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - That rotates the plane of polarized light to the right, or clockwise. Notation: (+) or formerly lowercase d-.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dextrorotatory · dextrorotatory · English

dextrorotatory · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 14 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "D" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for dextrorotatory
PropertyValue
Headworddextrorotatory
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters14
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “dextrorotatory” in English

dextrorotatoryranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

dextrorotatory is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "That rotates the plane of polarized light to the right, or clockwise. Notation: (+) or formerly lowercase d-.".

Zero misspellings are on record for dextrorotatory in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From dextro- + rotatory. The correct English form is dextrorotatory, spelled D-E-X-T-R-O-R-O-T-A-T-O-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    That rotates the plane of polarized light to the right, or clockwise. Notation: (+) or formerly lowercase d-.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how dextrorotatory appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Dexibuprofen is the active dextrorotatory enantiomer of ibuprofen.

Etymology

From dextro- + rotatory.

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "dextrorotatory"?
"dextrorotatory" is spelled D-E-X-T-R-O-R-O-T-A-T-O-R-Y.
What does "dextrorotatory" mean?
As an adjective, "dextrorotatory" means: That rotates the plane of polarized light to the right, or clockwise. Notation: (+) or formerly lowercase d-.
What is the origin of the word "dextrorotatory"?
From dextro- + rotatory. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list