reversal

C2+ Topic:Space, Position & Direction

US /rɪˈvɝsəl/ UK /rɪˈvɜːsəl/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
a change to an opposite direction, position, or decision

The appeal led to a complete reversal of the lower court's verdict.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a change to an opposite... turnaroundabout-faceinversion overturning switch change setback

Opposites

continuation maintenance affirmation

Word family

Related forms reverse reversion revert reversible

Etymology

From reverse + -al, from Old French revers, from Latin reversus, past participle of revertere ('to turn back'), from re- ('back') + vertere ('to turn').

revertere Latin vertere Latin *wert- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Space, Position & Direction Word Formation & Derivatives

# reversal

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** rɪˈvɝsəl
**IPA (UK):** rɪˈvɜːsəl

## Meanings
1. a change to an opposite direction, position, or decision

## Examples
- The appeal led to a complete reversal of the lower court's verdict.

## Synonyms
- turnaround
- about-face
- inversion
- overturning
- switch
- change
- setback

## Antonyms
- continuation
- maintenance
- affirmation

## Related Forms
- reverse
- reversion
- revert
- reversible

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: revertere
- Root: vertere
- Root: *wert-

## Etymology
From reverse + -al, from Old French revers, from Latin reversus, past participle of revertere ('to turn back'), from re- ('back') + vertere ('to turn').

## AI Etymology
Reversal comes from reverse + -al, from Old French revers, from Latin reversus, past participle of revertere ('to turn back'), from re- ('back') + vertere ('to turn'). The historical chain includes Latin revertere, Latin vertere, and Proto-Indo-European *wert-. The quoted older senses, "to turn back", "back", and "to turn", supply the semantic anchors for reversal. The formation is best read as suffixal, compound, participial, and borrowed: the word reversal carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a noun, "a change to an opposite direction, position, or decision". Related English forms include reverse, reversion, revert, and reversible. The result is a noun whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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