inverse

US/ɪnˈvɝs/

inverse adjective: opposite in effect, nature or order.

Image: Warren Hays, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Adjective

inverse (not comparable)

Opposite in effect, nature or order.
Reverse, opposite in order.
Inverted; having a position or mode of attachment the reverse of that which is usual.
Having the properties of an inverse; said with reference to any two operations, which, when both are performed in succession upon any quantity, reproduce that quantity.
- Multiplication is the inverse operation to division.
That has the property of being an inverse (the result of a circle inversion of a given point or geometrical figure); that is constructed by circle inversion.
- A circle inversion maps a given generalized circle to its inverse generalized circle.
Whose every element has an inverse (morphism which is both a left inverse and a right inverse).

Noun

inverse (plural inverses)

An inverted state: a state in which something has been turned (properly) upside down or (loosely) inside out or backwards.
- Cowgirl is the inverse of missionary.
- 321 is the inverse of 123.
The reverse of any procedure or process.
- Uninstalling is the inverse of installation.
A ratio etc. in which the antecedents and consequents are switched.
- The inverse of a:b is b:a.
The result of a circle inversion; the set of all such points; the curve described by such a set.
- The inverse P‘ of a point P is the point on a ray from the center O through P such that OP × OP‘ = r² or the set of all such points.
The non-truth-preserving proposition constructed by negating both the premise and conclusion of an initially given proposition.
- "Anything that isn't a dog doesn't go to heaven" is the inverse of "All dogs go to heaven." More generally, ¬ mathsf p→¬ mathsf q is the inverse of mathsf p→ mathsf q and is equivalent to the converse proposition mathsf q→ mathsf p.
- Inversion is the inferring, from a given proposition, another proposition whose subject is the contradictory of the subject of the original proposition. The given proposition is called the Invertend, that which is inferred from it is termed the Inverse... The rule for Inversion is: Convert either...1896, James Welton, A Manual of Logic, 2nd edition, Bk iii, Ch. iii, §102
(addition) The negative of a given number.
- The additive inverse of x is -x, as x-x=0, as 0 is the additive identity element.
(multiplication) One divided by a given number.
- The multiplicative inverse of x is x⁻¹, as x×x⁻¹=1, as 1 the multiplicative identity element.
(functions) A second function which, when combined with the initially given function, yields as its output any term inputted into the first function.
- The compositional inverse of a function f is f⁻¹, as ff⁻¹= mathit I, as mathit I is the identity function. That is, ∀x,f(f⁻¹(x))= mathit I(x)=x.
A morphism which is both a left inverse and a right inverse.
The winning of the coup in a game of rouge et noir by a card of a color different from that first dealt; the area of the table reserved for bets upon such an outcome.
- If the player... be determined to try his luck on the inverse, he must place his money on a yellow circle, or rather a collection of circles, situated at the extremity of the table.1850, Henry George Bohn, The Hand-book of Games, page 343
- The tailleur never mentions the words ‘Black’ or ‘Inverse’, but always says that Red wins or Red loses, and that the colour wins or the colour loses.1950, Lawrence Hawkins Dawson, Hoyle's Games Modernized, 20th edition, page 291
A grammatical number marking that indicates the opposite grammatical number (or numbers) of the default number specification of noun class.

Verb

inverse (third-person singular simple present inverses, present participle inversing, simple past and past participle inversed)

To compute the bearing and distance between two points.

inverse meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

inverse in Hindi

math: element: प्रतिलोम pratilom

inverse in Tamil

தலைகீழ், நேர்மாறு, தலைகீழான, நேர்மாறான

inverse in Urdu

inverse: عکس 'aks

inverse in Bengali

বিপরীত, উল্টো, উল্টানো

More languagesFewer languages

inverse in Malayalam: വിലോമം vilōmaṁ
inverse in Kannada: ತಲೆಕೆಳಗು, ತಿರುಗುಮುರುಗು, ವಿಪರ್ಯಯ, ವಿಲೋಮ
inverse in Punjabi: ਇਨਵਰਸ

Examples of inverse in a sentence

A group contains a unique inverse for each of its elements.
The inverse sine function is multivalued unless it is restricted to a suitable range.
If an inverse function exists for a given function, then it is unique.

All 40 example sentences with inverse

Synonyms of inverse

additive inverse
multiplicative inverse
compositional inverse
inverse point
inverse curve

Antonyms

compute

All synonyms and antonyms of inverse

Forms of inverse

Noun
plural	inverses
Verb
third-person singular present	inverses
present participle	inversing
past participle	inversed
past	inversed

Origin of inverse

Recorded since 1440, from Latin inversus, the past participle of invertere (“to invert”), itself from in- (“against, in”) + vertere (“to turn”).

Phrases with inverse

6 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with inverse

adverse

Questions about inverse

What does inverse mean?: Inverse means opposite in effect, nature or order.
What is inverse in Hindi?: Inverse in Hindi is प्रतिलोम (pratilom). See Inverse meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is inverse?: Inverse can be an adjective, a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce inverse?: Inverse is pronounced /ɪnˈvɝs/ (US).

Words near inverse in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: inverse (page history and authors); inverse (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); عکس (Urdu) (page history and authors); Inverse (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); വിലോമം (Malayalam) (page history and authors); inverse (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); inverse (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-ca-inverse.oga.

Cite this entry: “inverse.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/inverse. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.