reverse

See also reversé

English

Wikipedia

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ɹəˈvɜː(ɹ)s/, SAMPA: /r@"v3:(r)s/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(r)s

Etymology

From Old French revers, from Latin reversus (past participle of reverti)

Adjective

reverse (comparative more reverse, superlative most reverse)

1. Having the order of its constituents moved backwards in time or space.

   We ate the meal in reverse order with the dessert first and ending with the starter.

   The mirror showed us a reverse view of the scene.

2. Causing movement in the opposite direction.

   He selected reverse gear.

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

Antonyms

• (rail transport): normal

Derived terms

• reverse discrimination

Translations

having the order of its constituents moved backwards

Romanian: invers (ro) m. and n., răsturnat (ro) m. and n., inversă (ro) f.

Spanish: (adverb) al revés (es), (adverb) en sentido contrario (es)

causing movement in the opposite direction

Spanish: reverso (es) m.

of points: to be in the non-default position

Spanish: reverso (es) m.

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

French: inverse, revers, l'envers, le verso

Adverb

reverse (comparative more reverse, superlative most reverse)

1. (now rare) In a reverse way or direction; upside-down.
   • 1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book XVIII:

     they three smote hym at onys with their spearys, and with fors of themselff they smote Sir Launcelottis horse revers to the erthe.

   • 1963, Donal Serrell Thomas, Points of Contact:

     The man was killed to feed his image fat / Within this pictured world that ran reverse, / Where miracles alone were ever plain.

Noun

reverse (plural reverses)

1. The opposite of front.
2. The opposite of forward.
3. The gear setting of an automobile that makes it travel backwards.
4. The tails side of a coin, or the side of a medal or badge that is opposite the obverse.

Translations

opposite of front

Portuguese: verso (pt) m.

Romanian: spate (ro), revers (ro) n., dos (ro) n., verso (ro) n., contrariu (ro) n.

opposite of forward

Romanian: spate (ro), dos (ro) n.

gear

Dutch: achteruit (nl) French: marche arrière (fr) German: Rückwärtsgang (de) m. Greek: όπισθεν (el) Italian: retromarcia (it) f.

Portuguese: marcha ré (pt) f., ré (pt) f. Spanish: marcha atrás f., retroceso m. (Venezuela), reversa f. (Central America, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico), riversa f. (Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico) Swedish: back (sv) c. Vietnamese: số de (vi)

side opposite the obverse

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

French: contraire, opposé, revers, envers, verso

Verb

reverse (third-person singular simple present reverses, present participle reversing, simple past and past participle reversed)

1. (intransitive) To turn something around such that it faces in the opposite direction.
2. (intransitive) To turn something inside out or upside down.
3. (intransitive) To transpose the positions of two things.
4. (obsolete, intransitive) To return, come back.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.iii:

     Bene they all dead, and laid in dolefull herse? / Or doen they onely sleepe, and shall againe reuerse?

5. (law) To revoke a law, or to change a decision into its opposite.
6. (ergative) To cause a mechanism or a vehicle to operate or move in the opposite direction.
7. (chemistry) To change the direction of a reaction such that the products become the reactants and vice-versa.
8. (rail transport, transitive) To place a set of points in the reverse position
9. (rail transport, intransitive, of points) to move from the normal position to the reverse position

Derived terms

• to reverse out
• bootlegger reverse
• reversal noun

Antonyms

• (rail transport) normalise / normalize (transitive and intransitive)

Translations

to turn something around

French: faire marche arrière Portuguese: inverter (pt), reverter (pt)

Romanian: inversa (ro), răsturna (ro), bascula (ro)

to turn something inside out

Portuguese: inverter (pt)

Romanian: întoarce (ro) (pe dos)

to transpose the positions of two things

Romanian: inversa (ro)

to revoke a law

Romanian: revoca (ro), abroga (ro), anula (ro)

to cause a mechanism or vehicle to operate or move in the opposite directions

Romanian: inversa (ro), întoarce (ro)

chemistry: to change the direction of a reaction

Romanian: inversa (ro)

rail transport: to place points in the reverse position

rail transport, of points: to move from the normal position to the reverse position

Romanian: inversa (ro)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

French: retourner, inverser, renverser

Anagrams

• reserve
• reveres
• severer

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French

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ʁə.vɛʁs/

Verb

reverse

1. first-person singular present indicative of reverser
2. third-person singular present indicative of reverser
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of reverser
4. first-person singular present subjunctive of reverser
5. second-person singular imperative of reverser

Anagrams

• réserve, réservé

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Latin

Participle

reverse

1. vocative masculine singular of reversus