adj
Meaning 1
Opposite in effect, nature or order.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
inverse
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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General-American: /ɪnˈvɝs/
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General-American: /ˈɪnvɝs/
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Canada: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -ɜ(ɹ)s
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CMU ARPABET: IH2 N V ER1 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
adj
Meaning 2
Reverse, opposite in order.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Meaning 3
Inverted; having a position or mode of attachment the reverse of that which is usual.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
Topics: biology, botany, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Meaning 4
Having the properties of an inverse; said with reference to any two operations, which, when both are performed in succession upon any quantity, reproduce that quantity.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
Topics: mathematics, sciences
Examples
- Multiplication is the inverse operation to division.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Meaning 5
That has the property of being an inverse (the result of a circle inversion of a given point or geometrical figure); that is constructed by circle inversion.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
Topics: geometry, mathematics, sciences
Examples
- A circle inversion maps a given generalized circle to its inverse generalized circle.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Meaning 6
Whose every element has an inverse (morphism which is both a left inverse and a right inverse).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
Topics: category-theory, computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 7
An inverted state: a state in which something has been turned (properly) upside down or (loosely) inside out or backwards.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- Cowgirl is the inverse of missionary.
- 321 is the inverse of 123.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 8
The result of an inversion
The reverse of any procedure or process.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- Uninstalling is the inverse of installation.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 9
The result of an inversion
A ratio etc. in which the antecedents and consequents are switched.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: mathematics, sciences
Examples
- The inverse of a:b is b:a.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 10
The result of an inversion
The result of a circle inversion; the set of all such points; the curve described by such a set.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: geometry, mathematics, sciences
Examples
- The inverse P‘ of a point P is the point on a ray from the center O through P such that OP × OP‘ = r2 or the set of all such points.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 11
The result of an inversion
The non-truth-preserving proposition constructed by negating both the premise and conclusion of an initially given proposition.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: human-sciences, logic, mathematics, philosophy, sciences
Examples
- "Anything that isn't a dog doesn't go to heaven" is the inverse of "All dogs go to heaven." More generally, ¬ mathsf p→¬ mathsf q is the inverse of mathsf p→ mathsf q and is equivalent to the converse proposition mathsf q→ mathsf p.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 12
A second element which negates a first; in a binary operation, the element for which the binary operation—when applied to both it and an initially given element—yields the operation's identity element, specifically:
The negative of a given number.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Qualifier: addition
Topics: mathematics, sciences
Examples
- The additive inverse of x is -x, as x-x=0, as 0 is the additive identity element.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 13
A second element which negates a first; in a binary operation, the element for which the binary operation—when applied to both it and an initially given element—yields the operation's identity element, specifically:
One divided by a given number.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Qualifier: multiplication
Topics: mathematics, sciences
Examples
- The multiplicative inverse of x is x−1, as x×x−1=1, as 1 the multiplicative identity element.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 14
A second element which negates a first; in a binary operation, the element for which the binary operation—when applied to both it and an initially given element—yields the operation's identity element, specifically:
A second function which, when combined with the initially given function, yields as its output any term inputted into the first function.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Qualifier: functions
Topics: mathematics, sciences
Examples
- The compositional inverse of a function f is f−1, as ff−1= mathit I, as mathit I is the identity function. That is, ∀x,f(f−1(x))= mathit I(x)=x.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 15
A morphism which is both a left inverse and a right inverse.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: category-theory, computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 16
The winning of the coup in a game of rouge et noir by a card of a color different from that first dealt; the area of the table reserved for bets upon such an outcome.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: card-games, games
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 17
A grammatical number marking that indicates the opposite grammatical number (or numbers) of the default number specification of noun class.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 18
To compute the bearing and distance between two points.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: geography, natural-sciences, surveying
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adjective
Meaning 19
opposite in nature or effect or relation to another quantity
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- a term is in inverse proportion to another term if it increases (or decreases) as the other decreases (or increases)
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: direct
adjective satellite
Meaning 20
reversed (turned backward) in order or nature or effect
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: reverse
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 21
something inverted in sequence or character or effect
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- when the direct approach failed he tried the inverse
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: opposite
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: opposition, oppositeness
Narrower terms: additive inverse, multiplicative inverse, reciprocal
History
Etymology
Recorded since 1440, from Latin inversus, the past participle of invertere (“to invert”), itself from in- (“against, in”) + vertere (“to turn”).
Across languages
Translations
53 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Bulgarian: противоположен (protivopoložen) — opposite in effect or nature
- Catalan: invers — opposite in effect or nature
- Chinese Mandarin: 逆 (nì) — opposite in effect or nature
- Chinese Mandarin: 逆向 (nìxiàng) — opposite in effect or nature
- Czech: inverzní — opposite in effect or nature
- Dutch: tegengesteld — opposite in effect or nature
- Dutch: tegenovergesteld — opposite in effect or nature
- Finnish: päinvastainen — opposite in effect or nature
- French: inversé — opposite in effect or nature
- German: entgegengesetzt — opposite in effect or nature
- Norwegian Nynorsk: omvendt — opposite in effect or nature
- Spanish: inverso — opposite in effect or nature
- Azerbaijani: tərs — reverse, opposite in order
- Bulgarian: обратен (obraten) — reverse, opposite in order
- Catalan: invers — reverse, opposite in order
- Chinese Mandarin: 逆 (nì) — reverse, opposite in order
- Chinese Mandarin: 逆向 (nìxiàng) — reverse, opposite in order
- Dutch: omgekeerd — reverse, opposite in order
- Esperanto: inversa — reverse, opposite in order
- Finnish: käänteinen — reverse, opposite in order
- Finnish: päinvastainen — reverse, opposite in order
- French: inversé — reverse, opposite in order
- German: umgekehrt — reverse, opposite in order
- Norwegian Nynorsk: omvendt — reverse, opposite in order
- Spanish: inverso — reverse, opposite in order
- Azerbaijani: tərs — (mathematics) having the properties of an inverse
- Bulgarian: реципрочен (recipročen) — (mathematics) having the properties of an inverse
- Catalan: invers — (mathematics) having the properties of an inverse
- Chinese Mandarin: 逆 (nì) — (mathematics) having the properties of an inverse
- Dutch: invers — (mathematics) having the properties of an inverse
- Finnish: käänteis- — (mathematics) having the properties of an inverse
- Finnish: käänteinen — (mathematics) having the properties of an inverse
- Spanish: inverso — (mathematics) having the properties of an inverse
- Swedish: invers — (mathematics) having the properties of an inverse
- Bulgarian: противоположност (protivopoložnost) — opposite of a given due to contrary effects or nature
- Dutch: tegendeel — opposite of a given due to contrary effects or nature
- Dutch: tegengestelde — opposite of a given due to contrary effects or nature
- Dutch: tegenovergestelde — opposite of a given due to contrary effects or nature
- Finnish: vastakohta — opposite of a given due to contrary effects or nature
- Bulgarian: обръщане (obrǎštane) — reverse procedure
- Dutch: omgekeerde — reverse procedure
- Dutch: spiegelbeeld — reverse procedure
- Finnish: käänteinen toimenpide — reverse procedure
- Trió: da — reverse procedure
- Bulgarian: реципрочно число (recipročno čislo) — math: element
- Chinese Mandarin: 逆元 (nìyuán) — math: element
- Dutch: inverse — math: element
- Finnish: käänteisarvo — math: element
- Hindi: प्रतिलोम (pratilom) — math: element
- Chinese Mandarin: 否命题 (fǒumìngtí) — logic: statement
- Finnish: vastakkainen lause — logic: statement
- Finnish: vastakkainen väittämä — logic: statement
- Korean: 이 (i) — logic: statement
Real reading context