invert

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

verb (used with object)

1. to turn upside down.
2. to reverse in position, order, direction, or relationship.
3. to turn or change to the opposite or contrary, as in nature, bearing, or effect:

   to invert a process.

4. to turn inward or back upon itself.
5. to turn inside out.
6. Chemistry. to subject to a reaction in which a starting material of one optical configuration forms a product of the opposite configuration.
7. Music. to subject to musical inversion, the transposition between the upper voice part and the lower.
8. Phonetics. to articulate as a retroflex vowel.

verb (used without object)

1. Chemistry. to undergo a reaction in which a starting material of one optical configuration forms a product of the opposite configuration.

adjective

1. Chemistry. subjected to a reaction in which a starting material of one optical configuration forms a product of the opposite configuration.

noun

1. a person or thing that is reversed in position, changed to the contrary, or turned upside down, inside out, or inward.
2. (in plumbing) that portion of the interior of a drain or sewer pipe where the liquid is deepest.
3. a U-shaped arch or vault, having the opposite vertical orientation compared to a traditional arch or vault.
4. Philately. a two-colored postage stamp with all or part of the central design printed upside down in relation to the inscription.
5. Psychiatry. (no longer in technical use)
   1. a gay person.
   2. a person whose behavior is considered nonnormative for their assigned sex, historically involving both gender non-conforming or transgender expression and gay or lesbian sexual orientation.
6. Disparaging and Offensive. anyone whose sexuality or gender expression is regarded as strange or unnatural, especially a gay or transgender person.
7. Informal. (especially among aquarists) invertebrate:

   My invert tank is mostly sea slugs, but I bought a couple of shrimp recently also.

invert

verb

1. to turn or cause to turn upside down or inside out
2. tr to reverse in effect, sequence, direction, etc
3. tr phonetics
   1. to turn (the tip of the tongue) up and back
   2. to pronounce (a speech sound) by retroflexion
4. logic to form the inverse of a categorial proposition

noun

1. psychiatry
   1. a person who adopts the role of the opposite sex
   2. another word for homosexual
2. architect
   1. the lower inner surface of a drain, sewer, etc Compare soffit
   2. an arch that is concave upwards, esp one used in foundations

Derived Forms

• inˈvertible, adjective
• inˌvertiˈbility, noun

Other Words From

• in·vert·i·ble adjective
• non·in·vert·ed adjective
• un·in·vert·ed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of invert¹

First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin invertere “to turn upside down or inside out,” equivalent to in- “in” + vertere “to turn”; in- ², verse

Word History and Origins

Origin of invert¹

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

Synonym Study

See reverse.

Example Sentences

He was the only driver to start on the hard tyres and used an inverted strategy to gain places throughout a long first stint.

From BBC

Still, stare too deep at the idea of the inverted spectrum and you may end up unsure about everything.

From Salon

This inverted perception: Where status once begot the signifier, the signifier now begot the status.

From Los Angeles Times

Behind them, they have got Moises alongside one of their inverted full-backs, which provides them with the balance which allows that front five to attack.

From BBC

The designs of the four-member team fit against the brutalist backdrops of what look like inverted skyscrapers and contrast with the rocky, dystopian landscapes seen later in their ordeal.

From Los Angeles Times