invert

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle), Verb (transitive)
• HYPHEN: in=vert

CIDE DICTIONARY

invert, v. t. [L. invertere, inversum; pref. in- in + vertere to turn. See Verse.].

•  To turn over; to put upside down; to upset; to place in a contrary order or direction; to reverse; as, to invert a cup, the order of words, rules of justice, etc.  [1913 Webster]

  "That doth invert the attest of eyes and ears,
  As if these organs had deceptious functions."  [1913 Webster]

  "Such reasoning falls like an inverted cone,
  Wanting its proper base to stand upon."  [1913 Webster]
•  To change the position of; -- said of tones which form a chord, or parts which compose harmony.  [1913 Webster]
•  To divert; to convert to a wrong use.  Knolles.  [1913 Webster]
•  To convert; to reverse; to decompose by, or subject to, inversion. See Inversion, n., 10.  [1913 Webster]

invert, v. i. 

 To undergo inversion, as sugar.  [1913 Webster]

invert, a. 

 Subjected to the process of inversion; inverted; converted; as, invert sugar.  [1913 Webster]

Invert sugar (Chem.), a variety of sugar, consisting of a mixture of dextrose and levulose, found naturally in fruits, and produced artificially by the inversion of cane sugar (sucrose); also, less properly, the grape sugar or dextrose obtained from starch. See Inversion, Dextrose, Levulose, and Sugar.

invert, n. 

 An inverted arch.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

invert, v. & n.
--v.tr.
1 turn upside down.
2 reverse the position, order, or relation of.
3 Mus. change the relative position of the notes of (a chord or interval) by placing the lowest note higher, usu. by an octave.
4 subject to inversion.
--n.
1 a homosexual.
2 an inverted arch, as at the bottom of a sewer.

Idiom

inverted comma = quotation mark. inverted snob a person who likes or takes pride in what a snob might be expected to disapprove of. invert sugar a mixture of dextrose and laevulose.

Derivative

inverter n. invertible adj. invertibility n.

Etymology

L invertere invers- (as IN-(2), vertere turn)

THESAURUS

invert

auntie, bi-guy, bisexual, bull dyke, butch, catamite, change, chicken, convert, dyke, evert, fag, faggot, fairy, femme, flip, flit, fricatrice, fruit, gunsel, homo, homophile, homosexual, homosexualist, introvert, intussuscept, invaginate, inverse, lesbian, nance, pansy, pathic, pronate, punk, queen, queer, resupinate, reverse, revert, revolve, rotate, sapphist, supinate, transplace, transpose, tribade, turn, turn about, turn around, turn down, turn in, turn inside out, turn out, turn over, turn the scale, turn the tables, turn upside down

ROGET THESAURUS

invert

Contrariety

VB be contrary, contrast with, oppose, diller toto coelo, invert, reverse, turn the tables, turn topsy-turvy, turn end for end, turn upside down, turn inside out, contradict, contravene, antagonize.

Inversion

VB be inverted, turn round, turn about, turn to the right about, go round, go about, go to the right about, wheel round, wheel about, wheel to the right about, turn over, go over, tilt over, topple over, capsize, turn turtle, invert, subvert, retrovert, introvert, reverse, up turn, over turn, up set, over set, turn topsy turvy, culbuter, transpose, put the cart before the horse, turn the tables.