inversion

[in-vur-zhuh n, -shuh n]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR inversion ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an act or instance of inverting.

the state of being inverted.

anything that is inverted.

Rhetoric. reversal of the usual or natural order of words; anastrophe.

Grammar. any change from a basic word order or syntactic sequence, as in the placement of a subject after an auxiliary verb in a question or after the verb in an exclamation, as “When will you go?” and “How beautiful is the rose!”

Anatomy, Pathology. the turning inward of a part, as the foot.

Chemistry.

a hydrolysis of certain carbohydrates, as cane sugar, that results in a reversal of direction of the rotatory power of the carbohydrate solution, the plane of polarized light being bent from right to left or vice versa.
a reaction in which a starting material of one optical configuration forms a product of the opposite configuration.

Music.

the process or result of transposing the tones of an interval or chord so that the original bass becomes an upper voice.
(in counterpoint) the transposition of the upper voice part below the lower, and vice versa.
presentation of a melody in contrary motion to its original form.

Psychiatry. assumption of the sexual role of the opposite sex; homosexuality.

Genetics. a type of chromosomal aberration in which the position of a segment of the chromosome is changed in such a way that the linear order of the genes is reversed.Compare chromosomal aberration.

Phonetics. retroflexion(def 3).

Also called atmospheric inversion, temperature inversion. Meteorology. a reversal in the normal temperature lapse rate, the temperature rising with increased elevation instead of falling.

Electricity. a converting of direct current into alternating current.

Mathematics. the operation of forming the inverse of a point, curve, function, etc.

adjective

pertaining to or associated with inversion therapy or the apparatus used in it: inversion boots.

Origin of inversion

1545–55; < Latin inversiōn- (stem of inversiō) a turning in. See inverse, -ion

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for inversion

conversion, contradiction, reversal, opposite

Examples from the Web for inversion

Contemporary Examples of inversion

This is the kind of inversion of history that conservatives attack when perpetrated by the left.
The Conservatives' Great Black Hope
Evan Gahr
May 19, 2014
In other words, he was an inversion of the gay maxim “Butch on the streets, queen in the sheets,” a.k.a. “a top.”
A Millennial’s Guide to Liberace
Sean Macaulay
May 21, 2013
This is an inversion of the basic principle of democracy: that elections are won by the candidate who gets the most votes.
Republicans’ Nefarious Election Ploy
John Avlon
January 27, 2013
But this is an inversion of Zionism, not its natural outgrowth.
Violence and Discourse: A Response to Yousef Munayer
Don Futterman
August 30, 2012
And what if the family and community collude in this inversion?
Who Is Philip Roth’s Portnoy Satirizing?
Bernard Avishai
August 28, 2012

Historical Examples of inversion

This is so to speak an inversion of sadism as regards cause and effect.
The Sexual Question
August Forel
We often meet with pederasty without a trace of inversion of the sexual appetite.
The Sexual Question
August Forel
The inversion on these particular plates was, probably, purely accidental.
The Stamps of Canada
Bertram Poole
Moreover, there is often need of some device to remove the ambiguities that are caused by inversion.
"Stops"
Paul Allardyce
After phrases and clauses which are placed at the beginning of a sentence by inversion.
Punctuation
Frederick W. Hamilton

British Dictionary definitions for inversion

inversion

noun

the act of inverting or state of being inverted

something inverted, esp a reversal of order, mutual functions, etcan inversion of their previous relationship

Also called: anastrophe rhetoric the reversal of a normal order of words

chem

the conversion of a dextrorotatory solution of sucrose into a laevorotatory solution of glucose and fructose by hydrolysis
any similar reaction in which the optical properties of the reactants are opposite to those of the products

music

the process or result of transposing the notes of a chord (esp a triad) such that the root, originally in the bass, is placed in an upper part. When the bass note is the third of the triad, the resulting chord is the first inversion; when it is the fifth, the resulting chord is the second inversionSee also root position
(in counterpoint) the modification of a melody or part in which all ascending intervals are replaced by corresponding descending intervals and vice versa
the modification of an interval in which the higher note becomes the lower or the lower one the higherSee complement (def. 8)

pathol abnormal positioning of an organ or part, as in being upside down or turned inside out

psychiatry

the adoption of the role or characteristics of the opposite sex
another word for homosexuality

meteorol an abnormal condition in which the layer of air next to the earth's surface is cooler than an overlying layer

anatomy phonetics another word for retroflexion (def. 2)

computing an operation by which each digit of a binary number is changed to the alternative digit, as 10110 to 01001

genetics a type of chromosomal mutation in which a section of a chromosome, and hence the order of its genes, is reversed

logic the process of deriving the inverse of a categorial proposition

maths a transformation that takes a point P to a point P ′ such that OP·OP ′ = a ², where a is a constant and P and P ′ lie on a straight line through a fixed point O and on the same side of it

Derived Formsinversive, adjective

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

Word Origin and History for inversion

1550s, from Latin inversionem (nominative inversio) "an inversion," noun of action from past participle stem of invertere (see invert).

inversion in Medicine

inversion

[ĭn-vûr′zhən]

n.

The act of inverting or the state of being inverted.

Conversion of a substance in which the direction of optical rotation is reversed.

The taking on of the gender role of the opposite sex.

A chromosomal defect in which a segment of the chromosome breaks off and reattaches in the reverse direction.

inversion in Science

inversion

[ĭn-vûr′zhən]

A departure from the normal effect of altitude on a meteorological property, especially an atmospheric condition in which the air temperature rises with increasing altitude.♦ A layer of air that is warmer than the air below it is called an inversion layer. Such a layer traps the surface air in place and prevents dispersion of any pollutants it contains.