inversion

/ɪnˈvʌrʒən/

/ɪnˈvʌʒən/

Other forms: inversions

A reversal of position is called an inversion. If a bookstore's employees join together to purchase the store, there's an inversion of power: the employees become owners, and the former owners are their employees.

Reversing the normal order of words in a sentence is also an inversion, especially if the verb comes before the subject. This inversion happens naturally in questions like "Are you happy?" but in statements it can sound a bit like Yoda from "Star Wars" — "Happy are you." In weather terms, an inversion occurs when the air temperature near the ground is colder than the upper air temperature.

Definitions of inversion

1. noun

   the act of turning inside out
   synonyms: eversion, everting

   type of:

   motility, motion, move, movement

   a change of position that does not entail a change of location
2. noun

   turning upside down; setting on end
   synonyms: upending

   types:

   overturn, turnover, upset

   the act of upsetting something

   type of:

   motility, motion, move, movement

   a change of position that does not entail a change of location
3. noun

   the reversal of the normal order of words
   synonyms: anastrophe

   type of:

   rhetorical device

   a use of language that creates a literary effect (but often without regard for literal significance)
4. noun

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

   chemical action, chemical change, chemical process

   (chemistry) any process determined by the atomic and molecular composition and structure of the substances involved
5. noun

   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)
   type of:

   abnormalcy, abnormality

   an abnormal physical condition resulting from defective genes or developmental deficiencies
6. noun

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

   chromosomal mutation, genetic mutation, mutation

   (genetics) any event that changes genetic structure; any alteration in the inherited nucleic acid sequence of the genotype of an organism
7. noun

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

   variation

   a repetition of a musical theme in which it is modified or embellished
8. noun

   a term formerly used to mean taking on the gender role of the opposite sex
   synonyms: sexual inversion

   type of:

   gayness, homoeroticism, homosexualism, homosexuality, queerness

   a sexual attraction to (or sexual relations with) persons of the same sex
9. noun

   the layer of air near the earth is cooler than an overlying layer
   type of:

   atmospheric phenomenon

   a physical phenomenon associated with the atmosphere