reverse

noun

The opposite of something.

The act of going backwards; a reversal.

A piece of misfortune; a setback.

(numismatics) The tails side of a coin, or the side of a medal or badge that is opposite the obverse.

The side of something facing away from a viewer, or from what is considered the front; the other side.

The gear setting of an automobile that makes it travel backwards. (Denoted with symbol R on a shifter's labeling.)

A thrust in fencing made with a backward turn of the hand; a backhanded stroke.

(surgery) A turn or fold made in bandaging, by which the direction of the bandage is changed.

(graph theory) Synonym of transpose.

verb

(transitive) To turn something around so that it faces the opposite direction or runs in the opposite sequence.

(transitive) To turn something inside out or upside down.

(transitive) To transpose the positions of two things.

(transitive) To change totally; to alter to the opposite.

(law) To revoke a law, or to change a decision into its opposite.

(ergative, transport) To cause a mechanism to operate or move in the opposite direction to normal; to drive a vehicle in the direction the driver has the back.

(chemistry) To change the direction of a reaction such that the products become the reactants and vice-versa.

(rail transport, transitive) To place (a set of points) in the reverse position.

(rail transport, intransitive, of points) To move from the normal position to the reverse position.

(aviation, transitive) To engage reverse thrust on (an engine).

To overthrow; to subvert.

(computing) Ellipsis of reverse-engineer. [To derive or duplicate the design, technical specifications, manufacturing methods, or functionality of an object by studying an existing product, prototype, etc.]

(obsolete, intransitive) To return, come back.

(obsolete, transitive) To turn away; to cause to depart.

(obsolete, transitive) To cause to return; to recall.

adjective

Opposite, contrary; going in the opposite direction.

Pertaining to engines, vehicle movement etc. moving in a direction opposite to the usual direction.

(rail transport, of points) To be in the non-default position; to be set for the lesser-used route.

Turned upside down; greatly disturbed.

(botany) Reversed.

(genetics) In which cDNA synthetization is obtained from an RNA template.

adverb

(now rare) In a reverse way or direction; in reverse; upside-down.

Roots

vertovers- · Latin · turn

Words related to reverse

reversern reverselyadv obvert backwardsadv nonreversibleadj reversibleadj revertedv inversionn upendingn skewback inverselyadv negatingv pseudoscope counteractv transposedadj anastrophen revertsv counterclockwiseadj reversionaryadj

Synonyms & related words for reverse

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of reverse — including reversal, inverse, invert, reversion, opposite, turnabout. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to reverse

Explore words related to reverse — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include reverser, reversely, obvert, backwards, nonreversible, reversible, reverted, inversion. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for reverse

Common synonyms for reverse include reversal, inverse, invert, reversion, opposite, turnabout, overturn, turn — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does reverse come from?

The word reverse breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root vers-, from Latin verto (“turn”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.