Reverse

• POS: Adjective, Noun, Verb (usu participle)
• HYPHEN: re=verse

CIDE DICTIONARY

Reverse, a. [OE. revers, OF. revers, L. reversus, p. p. of revertere. See Revert.].

•  Turned backward; having a contrary or opposite direction; hence; opposite or contrary in kind; as, the reverse order or method.  Gower.  [1913 Webster]
•  Turned upside down; greatly disturbed.  [1913 Webster]

  "He found the sea diverse
  With many a windy storm reverse."  [1913 Webster]
•  Reversed; as, a reverse shell.  [1913 Webster]

Reverse bearing (Surv.), the bearing of a back station as observed from the station next in advance. -- Reverse curve (Railways), a curve like the letter S, formed of two curves bending in opposite directions. -- Reverse fire (Mil.), a fire in the rear. -- Reverse operation (Math.), an operation the steps of which are taken in a contrary order to that in which the same or similar steps are taken in another operation considered as direct; an operation in which that is sought which in another operation is given, and that given which in the other is sought; as, finding the length of a pendulum from its time of vibration is the reverse operation to finding the time of vibration from the length.

Reverse, n. [Cf. F. revers. See Reverse, a.].

•  That which appears or is presented when anything, as a lance, a line, a course of conduct, etc., is reverted or turned contrary to its natural direction.  [1913 Webster]

  "He did so with the reverse of the lance."  [1913 Webster]
•  That which is directly opposite or contrary to something else; a contrary; an opposite.  Chaucer.  [1913 Webster]

  "And then mistook reverse of wrong for right."  [1913 Webster]

  "To make everything the reverse of what they have seen, is quite as easy as to destroy."  [1913 Webster]
•  The act of reversing; complete change; reversal; hence, total change in circumstances or character; especially, a change from better to worse; misfortune; a check or defeat; as, the enemy met with a reverse.  [1913 Webster]

  "The strange reverse of fate you see;
  I pitied you, now you may pity me."  [1913 Webster]

  "By a reverse of fortune, Stephen becomes rich."  [1913 Webster]
•  The back side; as, the reverse of a drum or trench; the reverse of a medal or coin, that is, the side opposite to the obverse. See Obverse.  [1913 Webster]
•  A thrust in fencing made with a backward turn of the hand; a backhanded stroke.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]
•  A turn or fold made in bandaging, by which the direction of the bandage is changed.  [1913 Webster]

Reverse, v. t. [See Reverse, a., and cf. Revert.].

•  To turn back; to cause to face in a contrary direction; to cause to depart.  [1913 Webster]

  "And that old dame said many an idle verse,
  Out of her daughter's heart fond fancies to reverse."  [1913 Webster]
•  To cause to return; to recall.  [1913 Webster]

  "And to his fresh remembrance did reverse
  The ugly view of his deformed crimes."  [1913 Webster]
•  To change totally; to alter to the opposite.  [1913 Webster]

  "Reverse the doom of death."  [1913 Webster]

  "She reversed the conduct of the celebrated vicar of Bray."  [1913 Webster]
•  To turn upside down; to invert.  [1913 Webster]

  "A pyramid reversed may stand upon his point if balanced by admirable skill."  [1913 Webster]
•  Hence, to overthrow; to subvert.  [1913 Webster]

  "These can divide, and these reverse, the state."  [1913 Webster]

  "Custom . . . reverses even the distinctions of good and evil."  [1913 Webster]
•  To overthrow by a contrary decision; to make void; to under or annual for error; as, to reverse a judgment, sentence, or decree.  [1913 Webster]

Reverse arms (Mil.), a position of a soldier in which the piece passes between the right elbow and the body at an angle of 45°, and is held as in the illustration. -- To reverse an engine or To reverse a machine, to cause it to perform its revolutions or action in the opposite direction.

Syn. -- To overturn; overset; invert; overthrow; subvert; repeal; annul; revoke; undo.

Reverse, v. i. 

•  To return; to revert.  Spenser.  [1913 Webster]
•  To become or be reversed.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Reverse, v., adj., & n.
--v.
1 tr. turn the other way round or up or inside out.
2 tr. change to the opposite character or effect (reversed the decision).
3 intr. & tr. travel or cause to travel backwards.
4 tr. make (an engine etc.) work in a contrary direction.
5 tr. revoke or annul (a decree, act, etc.).
6 intr. (of a dancer, esp. in a waltz) revolve in the opposite direction.
--adj.
1 placed or turned in an opposite direction or position.
2 opposite or contrary in character or order; inverted.
--n.
1 the opposite or contrary (the reverse is the case; is the reverse of the truth).
2 the contrary of the usual manner.
3 an occurrence of misfortune; a disaster, esp. a defeat in battle (suffered a reverse).
4 reverse gear or motion.
5 the reverse side of something.
6 a the side of a coin or medal etc. bearing the secondary design. b this design (cf. OBVERSE).
7 the verso of a leaf.

Idiom

reverse arms hold a rifle with the butt upwards. reverse the charges Brit. make the recipient of a telephone call responsible for payment. reverse gear a gear used to make a vehicle etc. travel backwards. reversing light a white light at the rear of a vehicle operated when the vehicle is in reverse gear. reverse Polish notation see Polish notation. reverse strata Geol. a fault in which the overlying side of a mass of rock is displaced upward in relation to the underlying side.

Derivative

reversal n. reversely adv. reverser n. reversible adj. reversibility n. reversibly adv.

Etymology

ME f. OF revers (n.), reverser (v.), f. L revertere revers- (as RE-, vertere turn)

THESAURUS

Reverse

Hydromatic, abandon, abolish, about-face, about-turn, abrogate, adversative, adverse, adversity, adversive, afterpart, afterpiece, afterthoughts, alter, annul, antagonistic, anti, antipathetic, antipodal, antipode, antipodean, antipodes, antipole, antithesis, antithetic, antithetical, antonym, antonymous, assimilate to, at cross-purposes, atavism, automatic transmission, back, back away, back door, back off, back seat, back side, back track, back trail, back up, backing, backing off, backing out, backing up, backpedal, backset, backslide, backsliding, backtrack, backtrail, backup, backward, backward deviation, backwater, bafflement, balancing, balk, become, behind, better thoughts, breech, bring to, cancel, capsize, catastrophe, change, change into, change of mind, change over, check, checkmate, clashing, cogwheel, comedown, compensating, conflicting, confronting, confusion, contra, contradictory, contradistinct, contrapositive, contrarious, contrary, contrasted, converse, convert, counter, counterbalance, counterbalancing, countercheck, countermand, countermarch, counterorder, counterpoint, counterpoise, counterpoised, counterpole, counterterm, countervailing, dead against, debacle, defeat, descent, differential, differential gear, difficulty, disaffirm, disannul, disappointment, disaster, discomfiture, discordant, discrepant, disenchantment, dismantle, do away with, do over, down, evert, exchange, eyeball to eyeball, eyeball-to-eyeball, facing, falling back, flip, flip side, flip-flop, foil, freewheel, frustration, gear, gear train, gearbox, gearing, gearshift, gearwheel, go astern, go into reverse, heads, heel, high, hind end, hind part, hindhead, hostile, inconsistent, inimical, interchange, intermediate, introvert, intussuscept, invaginate, invalidate, inverse, invert, inverted, lapse, lapse back, lift, low, make, make over, make sternway, make void, mature judgment, mirror, misadventure, misfortune, mishap, modify, naturalize, negate, neutral, nullify, obverse, occiput, offset, opposed, opposing, opposite, opposite number, opposite side, oppositional, oppositive, oppugnant, other face, other side, overdrive, override, overrule, overthrow, overturn, perverse, polar, polaric, polarized, posterior, postern, problem, pronate, quash, rack, rear, rear end, rearward, rebuff, recall, recant, recidivate, recidivation, recidivism, reclamation, reconversion, reconvert, recrudescence, recurrence, reduce to, regress, regression, rehabilitation, reinstatement, relapse, render, renege, renewal, renounce, repeal, repugnant, repulse, rescind, resolve into, restitution, restoration, resupinate, retract, retrocede, retrocession, retrogradation, retrograde, retrogress, retrogression, retroversion, retrovert, return, returning, reversal, reverse of fortune, reversed, reversing, reversion, revert, reverting, revoke, revolve, revulsion, right-about, right-about-face, rotate, rout, second thoughts, set aside, setback, setoff, severe check, shift, slip back, slipping back, squared off, standard transmission, stern, stick shift, supinate, suspend, swingaround, switch, switch over, synchromesh, tail, tail end, tailpiece, tails, take back, tergiversating, tergiversation, the contrary, the other side, throwback, transfer, transform, transmission, transplace, transpose, trouble, turn, turn about, turn around, turn back, turn down, turn in, turn inside out, turn into, turn out, turn over, turn the scale, turn the tables, turn topsy-turvy, turn upside down, turnabout, turnaround, underside, undo, upset, upside down, vacate, verso, veto, vicissitude, vis-a-vis, void, volte-face, waive, washout, withdraw, write off, wrong side

ROGET THESAURUS

Reverse

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.

N contrariety, contrast, foil, antithesis, oppositeness, contradiction, antagonism, clashing, repugnance, inversion, the opposite, the reverse, the inverse, the converse, the antipodes, the antithesis, the other extreme, contrary, contrarious, contrariant, opposite, counter, dead against, converse, reverse, opposed, antithetical, contrasted, antipodean, antagonistic, opposing, conflicting, inconsistent, contradictory, at cross purposes, negative, hostile, differing toto coelo, diametrically opposite, diametrically opposed, as opposite as black and white, as opposite as light and darkness, as opposite as fire and water, as opposite as the poles, as different as night and day, Hyperion to a satyr, quite the contrary, quite the reverse, no such thing, just the other way, tout au contraire, contrarily, contra, contrariwise, per contra, on the contrary, nay rather, vice versa, on the other hand, all concord's born of contraries, Thesis, antithesis, synthesis.

Adversity

N adversity, evil, failure, bad luck, ill luck, evil luck, adverse luck, hard fortune, hard hap, hard luck, hard lot, frowns of fortune, evil dispensation, evil star, evil genius, vicissitudes of life, ups and downs of life, broken fortunes, hard case, hard lines, hard life, sea of troubles, peck of troubles, hell upon earth, slough of despond, trouble, hardship, curse, blight, blast, load, pressure, pressure of the times, iron age, evil day, time out of joint, hard times, bad times, sad times, rainy day, cloud, dark cloud, gathering clouds, ill wind, visitation, infliction, affliction, bitter pill, care, trial, the sport of fortune, mishap, mischance, misadventure, misfortune, disaster, calamity, catastrophe, accident, casualty, cross, reverse, check, contretemps, rub, backset, comedown, setback, losing game, falling, fall, downfall, ruination, ruinousness, undoing, extremity, ruin, unfortunate, unblest, unhappy, unlucky, improsperous, unprosperous, hoodooed, luckless, hapless, out of luck, in trouble, in a bad way, in an evil plight, under a cloud, clouded, ill off, badly off, in adverse circumstances, poor, behindhand, down in the world, decayed, undone, on the road to ruin, on its last legs, on the wane, in one's utmost need, planet-struck, devoted, born under an evil star, born with a wooden ladle in one's mouth, ill-fated, ill-starred, ill-omened, adverse, untoward, disastrous, calamitous, ruinous, dire, deplorable.

Abrogation

VB abrogate, annul, cancel, destroy, abolish, revoke, repeal, rescind, reverse, retract, recall, abolitionize, overrule, override, set aside, disannul, dissolve, quash, nullify, declare null and void, disestablish, disendow, deconsecrate, disclaim, ignore, repudiate, recant, divest oneself, break off, countermand, counter order, do away with, sweep away, brush away, throw overboard, throw to the dogs, scatter to the winds, cast behind, dismiss, discard, cast off, turn off, cast out, cast adrift, cast out of doors, cast aside, cast away, send off, send away, send packing, send about one's business, discharge, get rid of, bounce, fire, fire out, sack, cashier, break, oust, unseat, unsaddle, unthrone, dethrone, disenthrone, depose, uncrown, unfrock, strike off the roll, disbar, disbench, be abrogated, receive its quietus, walk the plank.

Change

VB change, alter, vary, wax and wane, modulate, diversify, qualify, tamper with, turn, shift, veer, tack, chop, shuffle, swerve, warp, deviate, turn aside, evert, intervert, pass to, take a turn, turn the corner, resume, work a change, modify, vamp, superinduce, transform, transfigure, transmute, transmogrify, transume, metamorphose, ring the changes, innovate, introduce new blood, shuffle the cards, give a turn to, give a color to, influence, turn the scale, shift the scene, turn over a new leaf, recast, reverse, disturb, convert into.

Amusement

N amusement, entertainment, recreation, fun, game, fun and games, diversion, divertissement, reaction, solace, pastime, passetemps, sport, labor of love, pleasure, relaxation, leisure, fun, frolic, merriment, jollity, joviality, jovialness, heyday, laughter, jocosity, jocoseness, drollery, buffoonery, tomfoolery, mummery, pleasantry, wit, quip, quirk, giggle, titter, snigger, snicker, crow, cheer, chuckle, shout, horse laugh, belly laugh, hearty laugh, guffaw, burst of laughter, fit of laughter, shout of laughter, roar of laughter, peal of laughter, cachinnation, Kentish fire, tiger, play, game, game at romps, gambol, romp, prank, antic, rig, lark, spree, skylarking, vagary, monkey trick, gambade, fredaine, escapade, echappee, bout, espieglerie, practical joke, dance, hop, reel, rigadoon, saraband, hornpipe, bolero, ballroom dance, minuet, waltz, polka, fox trot, tango, samba, rhumba, twist, stroll, hustle, cha-cha, fandango, cancan, bayadere, breakdown, cake-walk, cornwallis, break dancing, nautch-girl, shindig, skirtdance, stag dance, Virginia reel, square dance, galop, galopade, jig, Irish jig, fling, strathspey, allemande, gavot, gavotte, tarantella, mazurka, morisco, morris dance, quadrille, country dance, folk dance, cotillon, Sir Roger de Coverley, ballet, ball, bal, bal masque, bal costume, masquerade, Terpsichore, festivity, merrymaking, party, blowout, hullabaloo, hoedown, bat, bum, bust, clambake, donation party, fish fry, jamboree, kantikoy, nautch, randy, squantum, tear, Turnerfest, yule log, fete, festival, gala, ridotto, revels, revelry, reveling, carnival, brawl, saturnalia, high jinks, feast, banquet, regale, symposium, wassail, carouse, carousal, jollification, junket, wake, Irish wake, picnic, fete champetre, regatta, field day, treat, round of pleasures, dissipation, a short life and a merry one, racketing, holiday making, rejoicing, jubilee, bonfire, fireworks, feu-de-joie, firecracker, holiday, gala day, red letter day, play day, high days and holidays, high holiday, Bank holiday, May day, Derby day, Saint Monday, Easter Monday, Whit Monday, Bairam, wayz-goos, bean feast, Arbor Day, Declaration Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Memorial Day, Thanksgiving Day, Mardi gras, mi-careme, feria, fiesta, place of amusement, theater, hall, concert room, ballroom, assemblyroom, music hall, park, plaisance, national park, national forest, state park, county park, city park, vest-pocket park, public park (public), arbor, garden, pleasure ground, playground, cricketground, croquet ground, archery ground, hunting ground, tennis court, racket court, bowling alley, green alley, croquet lawn, rink, glaciarum, skating rink, roundabout, merry-go-round, swing, montagne Russe, game of chance, game of skill, athletic sports, gymnastics, archery, rifle shooting, tournament, pugilism, sports, horse racing, the turf, aquatics, skating, sliding, cricket, tennis, lawn tennis, hockey, football, baseball, soccer, ice hockey, basketball, rackets, fives, trap bat and ball, battledore and shuttlecock, la grace, pall- mall, tipcat, croquet, golf, curling, pallone, polo, water polo, tent pegging, tilting at the ring, quintain, greasy pole, quoits, horseshoes, discus, rounders, lacrosse, tobogganing, water polo, knurr and spell, leapfrog, hop skip and jump, mother may I, French and English, tug of war, blindman's bluff, hunt the slopper, hide and seek, kiss in the ring, snapdragon, cross questions and crooked answers, crisscross, hopscotch, jacks, jackstones, marbles, mumblety-peg, mumble-the-peg, pushball, shinney, shinny, tag, billiards, pool, pingpong, pyramids, bagatelle, bowls, skittles, ninepins, kain, American bowls, tenpins, tivoli, cards, card games, whist, rubber, round game, loo, cribbage, besique, euchre, drole, ecarte, picquet, allfours, quadrille, omber, reverse, Pope Joan, commit, boston, boaston, blackjack, twenty- one, vingtun, quinze, thirty-one, put, speculation, connections, brag, cassino, lottery, commerce, snip-snap-snoren, lift smoke, blind hookey, Polish bank, Earl of Coventry, Napoleon, patience, pairs, banker, blind poker, draw poker, straight poker, stud poker, bluff, bridge, bridge whist, lotto, monte, three-card monte, nap, penny-ante, poker, reversis, squeezers, old maid, fright, beggar-my- neighbor, baccarat, ace, king, queen, knave, jack, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, trey, deuce, joker, trump, wild card, spades, hearts, clubs, diamonds, major suit, minor suit, bower, right bower, left bower, dummy, jackpot, deck, pair, two pair, three of a kind, straight, flush, full-house, four of a kind, royal flush, misere chess, draughts, checkers, checquers, backgammon, dominos, merelles, nine men's morris, go bang, solitaire, game of fox and goose, monopoly, loto, scrabble, scribbage, boggle, crossword puzzle, hangman, morra, gambling, toy, plaything, bauble, doll, teetotum, knickknack, magic lantern, peep show, puppet show, raree show, gallanty show, toy shop, quips and cranks and wanton wiles, nods and becks and wreathed smiles, entertainer, showman, showgirl, dancer, tap dancer, song-and-dance man, vaudeville act, singer, musician, sportsman, gamester, reveler, master of ceremonies, master of revels, pompom girl, arbiter elegantiarum, arbiter bibendi, archer, fan, toxophilite, turfman, amusing, entertaining, diverting, recreational, recreative, lusory, pleasant, laughable, witty, fun, festive, festal, jovial, jolly, jocund, roguish, rompish, playful, playful as a kitten, sportive, ludibrious, funny, very funny, hilarious, uproarious, side-splitting, amused, pleased with a rattle, tickled with a straw, laughing, risible, ready to burst, ready to split, ready to die with laughter, convulsed with laughter, rolling in the aisles, on the light fantastic toe, at play, in sport, Int, vive la bagatelle!, vogue la galere!, deus nobis haec otia fecit, dum vivimus vivamus, dulce est desipere in loco, (every room) hath blazed with lights and brayed wi, misce stullitiam consiliis brevem.

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.

N inversion, eversion, subversion, reversion, retroversion, introversion, contraposition, contrariety, reversal, turn of the tide, overturn, somersault, somerset, summerset, culbute, revulsion, pirouette, transposition, transposal, anastrophy, metastasis, hyperbaton, anastrophe, hysteron proteron, hypallage, synchysis, tmesis, parenthesis, metathesis, palindrome, pronation and supination, inverted, wrong side out, wrong side up, inside out, upside down, bottom upwards, keel upwards, supine, on one's head, topsy-turvy, sens dessus dessous, inverse, reverse, opposite, top heavy, inversely, hirdy-girdy, heels over head, head over heels.

Rear

N rear, back, posteriority, rear rank, rear guard, background, hinterland, occiput, nape, chine, heels, tail, rump, croup, buttock, posteriors, backside scut, breech, dorsum, loin, dorsal region, lumbar region, hind quarters, aitchbone, natch, natch bone, stern, poop, afterpart, heelpiece, crupper, wake, train, reverse, other side of the shield, back, rear, hind, hinder, hindmost, hindermost, postern, posterior, dorsal, after, caudal, lumbar, mizzen, tergal, behind, in the rear, in the background, behind one's back, at the heels of, at the tail of, at the back of, back to back, after, aft, abaft, astern, sternmost, aback, rearward, ogni medaglia ha il suo rovescio, the other side of the coin.

Contraposition

N contraposition, opposition, polarity, inversion, opposite side, reverse, inverse, counterpart, antipodes, opposite poles, North and South, antonym, opposite (contrariety), opposite, reverse, inverse, converse, antipodal, subcontrary, fronting, facing, diametrically opposite, Northern, septentrional, Boreal, arctic, Southern, Austral, antarctic, over, over the way, over against, against, face to face, vis-a- vis, as poles asunder, contraposition, opposition, polarity, inversion, opposite side, reverse, inverse, counterpart, antipodes, opposite poles, North and South, antonym, opposite (contrariety), opposite, reverse, inverse, converse, antipodal, subcontrary, fronting, facing, diametrically opposite, Northern, septentrional, Boreal, arctic, Southern, Austral, antarctic, over, over the way, over against, against, face to face, vis-a- vis, as poles asunder.