inversion — English Dictionary

Noun

1. The action of inverting.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

2. The act of being in an inverted state; being upside down, inside out, or in a reverse sequence.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

3. The reversal of an interval; the move of one pitch in an interval up or down an octave.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

4. The position of a chord which has a note other than the root as its bass note.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

5. The flipping of a melody or contrapuntal line so that high notes become low and vice versa; the reversal of a pitch contour.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

6. A segment of DNA in the context of a chromosome that is reversed in orientation relative to a reference karyotype or genome.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

7. A situation where air temperature increases with altitude (the ground being colder than the surrounding air).

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Synonyms

   temperature inversion

8. A section of a roller coaster where passengers are temporarily turned upside down.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

9. Deviation from standard word order, as for example by putting the predicate before the subject. It takes place in questions with auxiliary verbs; in normal, affirmative clauses beginning with a negative particle, for the purpose of emphasis; and in other rhetorical devices or unusual situations.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Synonyms

   anastrophehyperbaton

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   Question formation involves the phenomenon commonly known as subject-auxiliary inversion, a change in word order in which the auxiliary moves in front of the subject.

10. An operation on a group, analogous to negation.

    Usage

    • Countable
    • Uncountable

11. Homosexuality, particularly in early psychoanalysis.

    Usage

    • Countable
    • Obsolete
    • Uncountable

    Examples

    We can seldom, therefore, congratulate ourselves on the success of any "cure" of inversion.

    Equal relationships can only exist between equals. Inversion is the most positive identity possible in the situation as it is now.

    More examples (1)

    My father, León Fuertes, was a fag three years; […] He put on all the trappings of inversion: the twittered mouthings, the hyper-feminine moues, the languid mincings.

12. The catalytic action of invertase.

    Usage

    • Countable
    • Uncountable

Noun

1. the layer of air near the earth is cooler than an overlying layer

   Broader terms

   atmospheric phenomenon

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)

   Broader terms

   abnormalityabnormalcy

3. a chemical process in which the direction of optical rotation of a substance is reversed from dextrorotatory to levorotary or vice versa

   Broader terms

   chemical processchemical changechemical action

4. (genetics) a kind of mutation in which the order of the genes in a section of a chromosome is reversed

   Broader terms

   mutationgenetic mutationchromosomal mutation

5. the reversal of the normal order of words

   Synonyms

   anastrophe

   Broader terms

   rhetorical device

6. (counterpoint) a variation of a melody or part in which ascending intervals are replaced by descending intervals and vice versa

   Broader terms

   variation

7. a term formerly used to mean taking on the gender role of the opposite sex

   Synonyms

   sexual inversion

   Broader terms

   homosexualityhomosexualismhomoeroticismqueernessgayness

8. turning upside down; setting on end

   Synonyms

   upending

   Broader terms

   motionmovementmovemotility

9. the act of turning inside out

   Synonyms

   eversioneverting

   Broader terms

   motionmovementmovemotility