Origin: Latin suffix -al
Reversal has 10 different meanings across 1 category:
turning in an opposite direction or position
"the reversal of the image in the lens"
a decision to reverse an earlier decision
"The court issued a surprising reversal after initially ruling in favor of the defendant."
a judgment by a higher court that the judgment of a lower court was incorrect and should be set aside
"The Supreme Court issued a reversal, overturning the state appellate court's decision to dismiss the case."
turning in the opposite direction
"The car made a sudden reversal and drove back down the narrow alley."
the act of reversing the order or place of
"The reversal of the two books on the shelf accidentally knocked them both to the floor."
a major change in attitude or principle or point of view
"an about-face on foreign policy"
The state of being reversed.
"The sudden reversal left the driver dazed as the car spun backward into the ditch."
In plain English: A reversal is when something happens exactly opposite to what was expected or planned before.
"The reversal of his decision surprised everyone in the meeting."
Intended to reverse; implying reversal.
"The policy was a reversal, designed specifically to undo the previous regulations and restore the old system."
In plain English: Reversal describes something that has been turned around to go back the opposite way it was going before.
"The reversal in his fortune was so sudden that he lost everything within days."
The word reversal comes from Middle English and is formed by adding the suffix "-al" to the verb reverse. It originally described an action or process of turning something back in the opposite direction.