¹inverse

adjective in·verse \(ˌ)in-ˈvərs, ˈin-ˌ\

—used to describe two things that are related in such a way that as one becomes larger the other becomes smaller

: opposite in nature or effect

Full Definition of INVERSE

: opposite in order, nature, or effect

: being an inverse function <inverse sine>

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Origin of INVERSE

Middle English, turned upside down, from Latin inversus, from past participle of invertere

First Known Use: 15th century

Rhymes with INVERSE

adverse, amerce, asperse, averse, coerce, commerce, converse, cutpurse, disburse, disperse, diverse, dry nurse, free verse, immerse, Nez Percé, obverse, perverse, rehearse, reverse, scrub nurse, sesterce, submerse, transverse, traverse, wet nurse

²inverse

noun

: something that is the opposite of something else

Full Definition of INVERSE

: something of a contrary nature or quality : opposite, reverse

: a proposition or theorem formed by contradicting both the subject and predicate or both the hypothesis and conclusion of a given proposition or theorem <the inverse of “if A then B” is “if not-A then not-B”> — compare contrapositive

a : inverse function; also : an operation (as subtraction) that undoes the effect of another operation

b : a set element that is related to another element in such a way that the result of applying a given binary operation to them is an identity element of the set

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