[syn: inverse, reverse]
2. opposite in nature or effect or relation to another quantity ;
- Example: "a term is in inverse proportion to another term if it increases (or decreases) as the other decreases (or increases)"
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Inverse \In*verse"\, a. [L. inversus, p. p. of invertere: cf. F.
inverse. See Invert.]
[1913 Webster]
1. Opposite in order, relation, or effect; reversed;
inverted; reciprocal; -- opposed to direct.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Bot.) Inverted; having a position or mode of attachment
the reverse of that which is usual.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Math.) Opposite in nature and effect; -- said with
reference to any two operations, which, when both are
performed in succession upon any quantity, reproduce that
quantity; as, multiplication is the inverse operation to
division. The symbol of an inverse operation is the symbol
of the direct operation with -1 as an index. Thus sin-1 x
means the arc or angle whose sine is x.
[1913 Webster]
Inverse figures (Geom.), two figures, such that each point
of either figure is inverse to a corresponding point in
the order figure.
Inverse points (Geom.), two points lying on a line drawn
from the center of a fixed circle or sphere, and so
related that the product of their distances from the
center of the circle or sphere is equal to the square of
the radius.
Inverse ratio, or Reciprocal ratio (Math.), the ratio of
the reciprocals of two quantities.
Inverse proportion, or Reciprocal proportion, an equality
between a direct ratio and a reciprocal ratio; thus, 4 : 2
: : 1/3 : 1/6, or 4 : 2 : : 3 : 6, inversely.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Inverse \In"verse\, n.
That which is inverse.
[1913 Webster]
Thus the course of human study is the inverse of the
course of things in nature. --Tatham.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
inverse
adj 1: reversed (turned backward) in order or nature or effect
[syn: inverse, reverse]
2: opposite in nature or effect or relation to another quantity
; "a term is in inverse proportion to another term if it
increases (or decreases) as the other decreases (or
increases)" [ant: direct]
n 1: something inverted in sequence or character or effect;
"when the direct approach failed he tried the inverse"
[syn: inverse, opposite]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
79 Moby Thesaurus words for "inverse":
adversative, adverse, adversive, antagonistic, anti, antipathetic,
antipodal, antipode, antipodes, antipole, antithesis, antithetic,
antonym, antonymous, at cross-purposes, balancing, change,
clashing, compensating, conflicting, confronting, contra,
contradictory, contradistinct, contrapositive, contrarious,
contrary, contrasted, converse, counter, counterbalance,
counterbalancing, countercheck, counterpoint, counterpoise,
counterpoised, counterpole, counterterm, countervailing,
dead against, discordant, discrepant, eyeball to eyeball,
eyeball-to-eyeball, facing, foil, heads, hostile, inconsistent,
inimical, invert, obverse, offset, opposed, opposing, opposite,
opposite number, opposite side, oppositional, oppositive,
oppugnant, other face, other side, perverse, polar, polaric,
polarized, repugnant, reverse, revert, setoff, squared off, tails,
the contrary, the other side, transplace, transpose, turn,
vis-a-vis
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):
inverse
Given a function, f : D -> C, a function g : C
-> D is called a left inverse for f if for all d in D, g (f d)
= d and a right inverse if, for all c in C, f (g c) = c and an
inverse if both conditions hold. Only an injection has a
left inverse, only a surjection has a right inverse and only
a bijection has inverses. The inverse of f is often written
as f with a -1 superscript.
(1996-03-12)