Adjacent Words

Inversion definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

INVER'SION, n. [L. inversio. See Invert.]
1. Change of order, so that the last becomes first and the first last; a turning or change of the natural order of things.
It is just the inversion of an act of parliament; your Lordship first signed it, and then it was passed among the lords and commons.
2. Change of places, so that each takes the place of the other.
3. A turning backwards; a contrary rule of operation. Problems in geometry and arithmetic are often proved by inversion, as division by multiplication, and multiplication by division.
4. In grammar, a change of the natural order of words; as, "of all vices, impurity is one of the most detestable." instead of "impurity is one of the most detestable of all vices."
5. In music, the change of position either of a subject or of a chord.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the layer of air near the earth is cooler than an overlying layer
2: abnormal condition in which an organ is turned inward or inside out (as when the upper part of the uterus is pulled into the cervical canal after childbirth)
3: a chemical process in which the direction of optical rotation of a substance is reversed from dextrorotatory to levorotary or vice versa
4: (genetics) a kind of mutation in which the order of the genes in a section of a chromosome is reversed
5: the reversal of the normal order of words [syn: anastrophe, inversion]
6: (counterpoint) a variation of a melody or part in which ascending intervals are replaced by descending intervals and vice versa
7: a term formerly used to mean taking on the gender role of the opposite sex [syn: inversion, sexual inversion]
8: turning upside down; setting on end [syn: inversion, upending]
9: the act of turning inside out [syn: inversion, eversion, everting]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 1586 1. a reversal of position, order, form, or relationship: as a. (1) a change in normal word order; especially the placement of a verb before its subject (2) the process or result of changing or reversing the relative positions of the notes of a musical interval, chord, or phrase b. the condition of being turned inward or inside out c. a breaking off of a chromosome section and its subsequent reattachment in inverted position; also a chromosomal section that has undergone this process 2. the act or process of inverting 3. a. a change in the order of the terms of a mathematical proportion effected by inverting each ratio b. the operation of forming the inverse of a magnitude, a function, an operation, or an element 4. a. the conversion of dextrorotatory sucrose into a levorotatory mixture of glucose and fructose b. a change from one stereochemical figuration at a chiral center in a usually organic molecule to the opposite configuration that is brought about by a reaction in which a substitution of one group is made for a different group 5. homosexuality 6. an increase of temperature with height through a layer of air

NOAA Weather Glossary

An increase in temperature with height. The reverse of the normalcooling with height in the atmosphere. Temperature inversions trap atmospheric pollutants in the lower troposphere, resulting in higher concentrations of pollutants atground levels than would usually be experienced.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 the act of turning upside down or inside out. 2 the reversal of a normal order, position, or relation. 3 the reversal of the order of words, for rhetorical effect. 4 the reversal of the normal variation of air temperature with altitude. 5 the process or result of inverting. 6 the reversal of direction of rotation of a plane of polarized light. 7 homosexuality. Derivatives: inversive adj. Etymology: L inversio (as INVERT)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Inversion In*ver"sion, n. [L. inversio: cf. F. inversion. See Invert.] 1. The act of inverting, or turning over or backward, or the state of being inverted. 2. A change by inverted order; a reversed position or arrangement of things; transposition. It is just the inversion of an act of Parliament; your lordship first signed it, and then it was passed among the Lords and Commons. --Dryden. 3. (Mil.) A movement in tactics by which the order of companies in line is inverted, the right being on the left, the left on the right, and so on. 4. (Math.) A change in the order of the terms of a proportion, so that the second takes the place of the first, and the fourth of the third. 5. (Geom.) A peculiar method of transformation, in which a figure is replaced by its inverse figure. Propositions that are true for the original figure thus furnish new propositions that are true in the inverse figure. See Inverse figures, under Inverse. 6. (Gram.) A change of the usual order of words or phrases; as, ``of all vices, impurity is one of the most detestable,'' instead of, ``impurity is one of the most detestable of all vices.'' 7. (Rhet.) A method of reasoning in which the orator shows that arguments advanced by his adversary in opposition to him are really favorable to his cause. 8. (Mus.) (a) Said of intervals, when the lower tone is placed an octave higher, so that fifths become fourths, thirds sixths, etc. (b) Said of a chord, when one of its notes, other than its root, is made the bass. (c) Said of a subject, or phrase, when the intervals of which it consists are repeated in the contrary direction, rising instead of falling, or vice versa. (d) Said of double counterpoint, when an upper and a lower part change places. 9. (Geol.) The folding back of strata upon themselves, as by upheaval, in such a manner that the order of succession appears to be reversed. 10. (Chem.) The act or process by which cane sugar (sucrose), under the action of heat and acids or ferments (as diastase), is broken or split up into grape sugar (dextrose), and fruit sugar (levulose); also, less properly, the process by which starch is converted into grape sugar (dextrose). Note: The terms invert and inversion, in this sense, owe their meaning to the fact that the plane of polarization of light, which is rotated to the right by cane sugar, is turned toward the left by levulose.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(inversions) When there is an inversion of something, it is changed into its opposite. (FORMAL) ...a scandalous inversion of the truth. N-VAR: usu N of n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Inverting, reversing, placing in contrary order. 2. Inverting, upsetting, turning upside down. 3. Reciprocal change of place, reversed position. 4. (Rhet.) Hyperbaton, transposition of words.

Moby Thesaurus

about-face, addition, approximation, differentiation, division, equation, evolution, extrapolation, integration, interpolation, involution, multiplication, notation, practice, proportion, reduction, reversal, reverse, reversion, subtraction, transformation, turn, turnabout, turning, volte-face