1. Turning upside down; setting on end
   "The inversion of the trash can scattered its contents across the floor";
   - upending
    
2. The act of turning inside out
   "The inversion of the rubber glove was quick and simple";
   - eversion, everting
    
3. The reversal of the normal order of words
   "In 'Cheese I love,' inversion is used for emphasis";
   - anastrophe
    
4. (counterpoint) a variation of a melody or part in which ascending intervals are replaced by descending intervals and vice versa
   "The composer used inversion to create a new perspective on the original theme"
    
5. (genetics) a kind of mutation in which the order of the genes in a section of a chromosome is reversed
   "The inversion of chromosome segments can lead to genetic disorders"
    
6. A chemical process in which the direction of optical rotation of a substance is reversed from dextrorotatory to levorotary or vice versa
   "The inversion of sucrose produces a mixture of glucose and fructose"
    
7. A layer of warm air above a layer of cooler air near the earth's surface
   "The temperature inversion trapped pollutants close to the ground, worsening air quality"
    
8. 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)
   "The obstetrician carefully monitored for signs of uterine inversion during the delivery"
    
9. A term formerly used to mean taking on the gender role of the opposite sex
   "The outdated concept of sexual inversion is no longer used in modern psychology";
   - sexual inversion [archaic]

Derived forms: inversions

Type of: abnormalcy [US], abnormality, atmospheric phenomenon, chemical action, chemical change, chemical process, chromosomal mutation, gayness, genetic mutation, homoeroticism, homosexualism, homosexuality, motility, motion, move, movement, mutation, queerness, rhetorical device, variation

Encyclopedia: Inversion, chromosome