noun
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the act or an instance of reversing
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a change for the worse; reverse
a reversal of fortune
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the state of being reversed
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the annulment of a judicial decision, esp by an appeal court on grounds of error or irregularity
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of reversal
Explanation
A reversal is a change of decision or direction, often to the opposite. You liked history, but thought you'd major in business because there were more jobs. Then you took an economics class and hated it. So in a reversal, you majored in history after all. In legal terms, a reversal is when a high court decides the decision of a lower court is incorrect and should be overturned. In a reversal, the Supreme Court overturned the guilty verdict of the lower court, and the prisoner was set free. A setback or a change in circumstances for the worse is also a reversal. If you make poor investments, you may suffer a reversal in fortune and go from shopping for designer clothes to shopping at thrift stores.
Vocabulary lists containing reversal
Novel Study: Of Mice and Men, Chapters 1–3
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Literary Element: The Speech & Analyze Literature
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -al, -ial
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The exquisite comic reversal of the Turkey episode was that, this time, he was no longer directing the tableau.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
This raises the possibility that the reversal was temporary or that it forms part of a longer natural cycle within the outer core.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026
Carlos Mino, 67, joined Thursday's protest to express opposition to the legislation, despite the government's reversal.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
Part of the reason for their reversal was due to a higher cap and stronger language on third-party NIL transactions, according to the Associated Press.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
I opened my pack, rooted through the contents, and then looked up with that confounded expression that comes with the discovery of a reversal.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
You do know reversals are expensive and aren't always successful?
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
There have been six preceding momentum reversals where the momentum index underperformed the broader index by 10 percentage points or more.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Plus, Republicans are fretting over Trump’s latest policy reversals, and how the World Cup became an unexpected triumph for America.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
Bringing the constraints of cultural anthropology back into biomolecular analysis allows other reversals to emerge.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 7, 2026
It wasn't just white landlords who opposed major reversals in housing policy.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
