Definition of: inversion

(in·vûr′zhən, -shən) noun
1. The act of inverting.
2. The state of being inverted; a reversal of the natural order of things.
3. In rhetoric: a A reversal of the natural order of words. b A form of discussion that makes use of a speaker's own argument against himself.
4. Music The alteration of a harmony or melody by inverting the relations of its intervals; also, the arrangement resulting from such change.
5. In marching, a reversal of the order of companies in line, so as to bring the left to the right, and vice versa.
6. Chem. A rearrangement of the molecular structure of compounds, with the forming of two new compounds whose effects on the plane of polarization are opposed to each other: Sucrose, by acid hydrolysis, is an inversion of glucose and fructose.
7. Meteorol. An increase of temperature with elevation often noted in anticyclones.
8. Phonet. A tongue position in which the tip is turned up and back.
9. Homosexuality. [<L inversio, -onis <inversus, pp. of invertere. See INVERT.]
—in·ver′sive adjective