invert

[ verb in-vurt; adjective, noun in-vurt ]

/ verb ɪnˈvɜrt; adjective, noun ˈɪn vɜrt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR invert ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to turn upside down.

to reverse in position, order, direction, or relationship.

to turn or change to the opposite or contrary, as in nature, bearing, or effect: to invert a process.

to turn inward or back upon itself.

to turn inside out.

Chemistry. to subject to inversion.

Music. to subject to musical inversion.

Phonetics. to articulate as a retroflex vowel.

verb (used without object)

Chemistry. to become inverted.

adjective

Chemistry. subjected to inversion.

noun

a person or thing that is inverted.

a homosexual.

(in plumbing) that portion of the interior of a drain or sewer pipe where the liquid is deepest.

an inverted arch or vault.

Philately. a two-colored postage stamp with all or part of the central design printed upside down in relation to the inscription.

Nearby words

Origin of invert

1525–35; < Latin invertere to turn upside down or inside out, equivalent to in- in-² + vertere to turn; see verse

Related forms

in·vert·i·ble, adjectivein·vert·i·bil·i·ty, nounnon·in·vert·ed, adjectiveun·in·vert·ed, adjective

un·in·vert·i·ble, adjective

Synonym study

2. See reverse.

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

Examples from the Web for inverted

The flier itself shows an inverted Islamic State flag, with Arabic script below it.
ISIS Fliers on a Marine Corps Base?|Tim Mak|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The painting is mostly a bone-colored affair, as the background overwhelms the inverted spiral of the levels of Hell.
Fact-Checking Dan Brown’s ‘Inferno’: 10 Mistakes, False Statements, and Oversimplifications|Noah Charney|May 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
This inverted morality creates maniacs whose antics are referenced with a smile and a wink, not a harrumph.
Cavalcade of Bad Boy Flameouts|Eric Dezenhall|March 4, 2011|DAILY BEAST
To confirm this remark let the sentences be inverted; "thou art an hard man, I knew thee to be such, or I knew it."
Dissertation on the English Language|Noah Webster, Jr.

Next, Endlich dumped the contents of the basket on the ground, inverted it, and sat Neely upon it.
Asteroid of Fear|Raymond Zinke Gallun
The inverted crescent of the man's lips trembled, and presently there issued from it, "Well, I 'ain't done—"
H. R.|Edwin Lefevre
All this talk about guilt suggested some sort of inverted delusions of persecution.
Greener Than You Think|Ward Moore
A funnel or inverted cone in shape, whereas the Great Geysir is a mound and a cylinder, it gives the popular idea of a crater.
The Story of Ida Pfeiffer|Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for inverted

invert

verb (ɪnˈvɜːt)

to turn or cause to turn upside down or inside out

(tr) to reverse in effect, sequence, direction, etc

(tr) phonetics

to turn (the tip of the tongue) up and back
to pronounce (a speech sound) by retroflexion

logic to form the inverse of a categorial proposition

noun (ˈɪnvɜːt)

psychiatry

a person who adopts the role of the opposite sex
another word for homosexual

architect

the lower inner surface of a drain, sewer, etcCompare soffit (def. 2)
an arch that is concave upwards, esp one used in foundations

Derived Formsinvertible, adjectiveinvertibility, noun

Word Origin for invert

C16: from Latin invertere, from in- ² + vertere to turn

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

Medicine definitions for inverted

invert

[ ĭn-vûrt′ ]

v.

To turn inside out or upside down.

To reverse the position, order, or condition of.

To subject to inversion.

n.

Something inverted.

invert

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

adjective

noun

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of invert

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for inverted

British Dictionary definitions for inverted

invert

verb (ɪnˈvɜːt)

noun (ˈɪnvɜːt)

Word Origin for invert

Medicine definitions for inverted

invert

v.

n.