Re*verse" , v. i. 1. To
return; to revert. [Obs.]
Spenser.
2. To become or be
reversed.
Re*verse" , v. t. [imp. & p. p. Reversed (-v&etilde;rst");p. pr. & vb. n. Reversing.]
[See Reverse, a.,
and cf. Revert.]
1. To turn
back; to cause to face
in a contrary direction; to cause to depart.
And that old
dame said many an idle
verse,
Out of her daughter's heart fond fancies to reverse.
Spenser. 2. To cause to return; to recall. [Obs.]
And to his fresh remembrance did reverse
The ugly view
of his deformed crimes.
Spenser.
3. To change totally; to alter to the opposite.
Reverse the doom of death.
Shak. She reversed the conduct of the celebrated vicar of Bray.
Sir W. Scott.
4. To turn upside down; to invert.
A
pyramid reversed
may stand upon his point if balanced by admirable skill.
Sir W. Temple.
5. Hence, to overthrow; to subvert.
These can divide, and these reverse, the state.
Pope. Custom . . . reverses even the distinctions of good and evil.
Rogers.
6. (Law) To overthrow by a contrary
decision; to make void; to
under or annual for error; as, to
reverse a judgment, sentence, or decree.
Reverse arms (Mil.),
a position of a soldier
in which the piece passes between the right elbow and the body
at an angle
of 45°, and is held as in the illustration. -- To
reverse an engine or a machine, to cause it to perform its revolutions or action in the
opposite direction.
Syn. -- To overturn; overset; invert; overthrow; subvert; repeal; annul; revoke; undo.
Re*verse" (r&esl;*v&etilde;rs"), n. [Cf.
F. revers. See Reverse, a.]
1. That which appears or is presented when anything, as a lance, a line, a course of conduct, etc., is reverted or turned contrary to its natural direction.
He did so with the reverse of the lance.
Sir W. Scott.
2. That which is directly opposite or contrary to something else; a contrary; an opposite. Chaucer.
And then mistook reverse of wrong for
right.
Pope. To make everything the reverse of what they
have seen, is quite as easy as to destroy.
Burke. 3. The act of reversing; complete change; reversal; hence, total change in circumstances or character; especially, a change from better to worse; misfortune; a check or defeat; as, the enemy met
with a reverse.
The strange reverse of fate you see;
I pitied you, now you may pity me.
Dryden. By a reverse of fortune, Stephen becomes rich.
Lamb. 4. The back side; as, the
reverse of a drum or trench; the reverse of a medal or coin, that is,
the side opposite to the obverse. See Obverse.
5. A thrust in fencing made with a backward turn of the hand; a backhanded stroke. [Obs.] Shak.
6. (Surg.) A turn or fold
made in bandaging, by which the
direction of the bandage is changed.
Re*verse" (?), a. [OE.
revers, OF. revers, L. reversus, p. p. of
revertere. See Revert.]
1. Turned backward; having a contrary or
opposite direction; hence; opposite or contrary in kind; as, the reverse order or method. "A vice reverse unto this." Gower.
2. Turned upside down; greatly disturbed.
[Obs.]
He found the sea
diverse
With many a windy
storm reverse.
Gower.
3. (Bot. & Zoöl.) Reversed; as, a reverse shell.
Reverse bearing
(Surv.), the bearing of a
back station as observed from the station next in advance. - - Reverse
curve (Railways), a curve like
the letter S, formed of two curves bending in opposite directions. -- Reverse fire (Mil.),
a fire in
the rear. -- Reverse operation
(Math.), an operation the steps of which are
taken in a contrary order to that in which the same or similar steps are taken in another operation
considered as direct; an operation in which that
is sought which in another operation is given, and
that given which in the
other is sought; as, finding the length of a pendulum from its time of vibration is the reverse operation to finding the time of vibration from the length.
Hear it pronounced