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 a sex different from one's own.
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.
Origin of inversion
First recorded in 1545–55; from Latin inversiōn- (stem of inversiō ) “a turning in”; see inverse, -ion
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: anastropherhetoricthe 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)
patholabnormal 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
meteorolan abnormal condition in which the layer of air next to the earth's surface is cooler than an overlying layer
anatomyphonetics another word for retroflexion (def. 2)
computingan operation by which each digit of a binary number is changed to the alternative digit, as 10110 to 01001
geneticsa type of chromosomal mutation in which a section of a chromosome, and hence the order of its genes, is reversed
logicthe process of deriving the inverse of a categorial proposition
mathsa 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
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.