inversion

[ in-vur-zhuhn, -shuhn ]

/ ɪnˈvɜr ʒən, -ʃən /

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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. (no longer in technical use)

gay sexual orientation.
assumption and display of the normative perspective, manner, or behavior of the opposite sex.

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 at·mos·pher·ic in·ver·sion

[at-muhs-fer-ik in-vur-zhuhn], /ˌæt məsˈfɛr ɪk ɪnˈvɜr ʒən/, 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.

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a person who acts as though he or she knows everything and who dismisses the opinions, comments, or suggestions of others.

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Origin of inversion

First recorded in 1545–55; from Latin inversiōn- (stem of inversiō ) “a turning in”; see inverse, -ion

Words nearby inversion

inverse cotangent, inverse function, inverse image, inversely, inverse square law, inversion, inversion casting, inversion layer, inversion of uterus, inversion therapy, inversion, thermal

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
But this is an inversion of Zionism, not its natural outgrowth.
Violence and Discourse: A Response to Yousef Munayer|Don Futterman|August 30, 2012|DAILY BEAST
And what if the family and community collude in this inversion?
Who Is Philip Roth’s Portnoy Satirizing?|Bernard Avishai|August 28, 2012|DAILY BEAST

The paranoid anti-communism of the Palmer Raids, in other words, represented an inversion of the jingoism spawned by war.
The New McCarthyism|Peter Beinart|September 12, 2010|DAILY BEAST
The term is also applied to any inversion in order of events, arguments, &c.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 2|Various
Its diurnal curve and the subsequent changes after inversion are given in figure 204.
Life Movements in Plants, Volume II, 1919|Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose
After phrases and clauses which are placed at the beginning of a sentence by inversion.
Punctuation|Frederick W. Hamilton
Inversion is a figure intended to give emphasis to the thought by a change from the natural order of the words in a sentence.
English: Composition and Literature|W. F. (William Franklin) Webster
It is difficult to believe, however, that it possesses any marked influence on pronounced and developed cases of inversion.
Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 2 (of 6)|Havelock Ellis

British Dictionary definitions for inversion

inversion

/ (ɪnˈvɜːʃən) /

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 forms of inversion

inversive, 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

Medical definitions for inversion

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.

Scientific definitions for inversion

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.

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noun

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MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

inversion

noun

adjective

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Origin of inversion

Words nearby inversion

Words related to inversion

Example sentences from the Web for inversion

British Dictionary definitions for inversion

noun

Derived forms of inversion

Medical definitions for inversion

n.

Scientific definitions for inversion