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inversion

A reversal of position is called an inversion. If a bookstore's employees join together to purchase the store, there's an inversion of power: the employees become owners, and the former owners are their employees.

Reversing the normal order of words in a sentence is also an inversion, especially if the verb comes before the subject. This inversion happens naturally in questions like "Are you happy?" but in statements it can sound a bit like Yoda from "Star Wars" — "Happy are you." In weather terms, an inversion occurs when the air temperature near the ground is colder than the upper air temperature.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: inversion

1
 n
the act of turning inside out
2
 n
the layer of air near the earth is cooler than an overlying layer
FULL DEFINITIONS OF: inversion
1

n the act of turning inside out

Synonyms:
eversion, everting
Type of:
motility, motion, move, movement
a change of position that does not entail a change of location

n turning upside down; setting on end

Synonyms:
upending
Types:
overturn, turnover, upset
the act of upsetting something
Type of:
motility, motion, move, movement
a change of position that does not entail a change of location

n the reversal of the normal order of words

Synonyms:
anastrophe
Type of:
rhetorical device
a use of language that creates a literary effect (but often without regard for literal significance)

n a chemical process in which the direction of optical rotation of a substance is reversed from dextrorotatory to levorotary or vice versa

Type of:
chemical action, chemical change, chemical process
(chemistry) any process determined by the atomic and molecular composition and structure of the substances involved

n 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)

Type of:
abnormalcy, abnormality
an abnormal physical condition resulting from defective genes or developmental deficiencies

n (genetics) a kind of mutation in which the order of the genes in a section of a chromosome is reversed

Type of:
chromosomal mutation, genetic mutation, mutation
(genetics) any event that changes genetic structure; any alteration in the inherited nucleic acid sequence of the genotype of an organism

n (counterpoint) a variation of a melody or part in which ascending intervals are replaced by descending intervals and vice versa

Type of:
variation
a repetition of a musical theme in which it is modified or embellished

n a term formerly used to mean taking on the gender role of the opposite sex

Synonyms:
sexual inversion
Type of:
gayness, homoeroticism, homosexualism, homosexuality, queerness
a sexual attraction to (or sexual relations with) persons of the same sex
2

n the layer of air near the earth is cooler than an overlying layer

Type of:
atmospheric phenomenon
a physical phenomenon associated with the atmosphere
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