inverse
/ɪnˈvɝs/adjective, noun, verb
inverse is spelled I-N-V-E-R-S-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.6 times per million words in written English, the 16,687th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, inverse means “Opposite in effect, nature or order” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in inverse?
| Letters | 7: I-N-V-E-R-S-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.6 times per million words; the 16,687th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is inverse?
Inverse appears 2.6 times per million words in written English, the 16,687th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce inverse?
- US /ɪnˈvɝs/
- US /ˈɪnvɝs/
Inverse has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-ca-inverse.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with inverse?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as inverse from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of inverse
- inverses plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- inversing participle, present
- inversed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does inverse mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Opposite in effect, nature or order.
- 2
Reverse, opposite in order.
- 3
Inverted; having a position or mode of attachment the reverse of that which is usual.
- 4
Having the properties of an inverse; said with reference to any two operations, which, when both are performed in succession upon any quantity, reproduce that quantity.
Multiplication is the inverse operation to division.
- 5
That has the property of being an inverse (the result of a circle inversion of a given point or geometrical figure); that is constructed by circle inversion.
A circle inversion maps a given generalized circle to its inverse generalized circle.
- 6
Whose every element has an inverse (morphism which is both a left inverse and a right inverse).
noun
- 1
An inverted state: a state in which something has been turned (properly) upside down or (loosely) inside out or backwards.
Cowgirl is the inverse of missionary.
- 2
The reverse of any procedure or process.
Uninstalling is the inverse of installation.
- 3
A ratio etc. in which the antecedents and consequents are switched.
The inverse of a:b is b:a.
- 4
The result of a circle inversion; the set of all such points; the curve described by such a set.
The inverse P‘ of a point P is the point on a ray from the center O through P such that OP × OP‘ = r² or the set of all such points.
- 5
The non-truth-preserving proposition constructed by negating both the premise and conclusion of an initially given proposition.
"Anything that isn't a dog doesn't go to heaven" is the inverse of "All dogs go to heaven." More generally, ¬ mathsf p→¬ mathsf q is the inverse of mathsf p→ mathsf q and is equivalent to the converse proposition mathsf q→ mathsf p.
- 6
The negative of a given number.
The additive inverse of x is -x, as x-x=0, as 0 is the additive identity element.
- 7
One divided by a given number.
The multiplicative inverse of x is x⁻¹, as x×x⁻¹=1, as 1 the multiplicative identity element.
- 8
A second function which, when combined with the initially given function, yields as its output any term inputted into the first function.
The compositional inverse of a function f is f⁻¹, as ff⁻¹= mathit I, as mathit I is the identity function. That is, ∀x,f(f⁻¹(x))= mathit I(x)=x.
verb
- 1
To compute the bearing and distance between two points.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Inverse in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | inversé |
| German | entgegengesetzt , umgekehrt |
| Spanish | inverso |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does inverse come from?
Recorded since 1440, from Latin inversus, the past participle of invertere (“to invert”), itself from in- (“against, in”) + vertere (“to turn”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).