Inverted

How to spell inverted

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce inverted

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does inverted mean?

1. adjectiveTurned upside down, or reversed in position, order, or direction.
2. verbPast tense of invert: turned something upside down or reversed its order.

Inverted in a sentence

• adjective

  The photo showed an inverted reflection in the still lake.

• verb

  She inverted the bottle to drain the last of the syrup.

• adjective

  The company uses an inverted pyramid to show its smallest department at the bottom.

• verb

  The editor inverted the final two paragraphs to improve the flow.

Where does inverted come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb invertere, which combined the prefix in- (meaning 'in' or 'upon') with vertere, the verb meaning 'to turn'. So at its heart it literally meant 'to turn in' or 'to turn upside down'. The same vertere root spread widely through English, surfacing in relatives such as 'convert' (turn together), 'divert' (turn aside), and 'reverse' (turn back), so once you spot the vert, the whole family lines up. English took 'invert' into use in the sixteenth century, and 'inverted' followed naturally as its past form and as an adjective describing anything reversed in position, order, or direction. The spelling is mercifully regular: the stress sits on the vert, and the -ed simply adds the familiar past ending, with no doubling or silent traps to catch the writer.

How the word is built

• in- (in, into)
• vert (turn, from Latin vertere)
• -ed (past participle / adjective suffix)