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If something is inside out, can it be said that the object is inverted?

My understanding of the word inverted is simply "the opposite state," but I would like to get a bit of clarification just to be sure.

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invert in a broad, general sense; evert in a more precise, technically correct way. –  Kris Jan 19 '12 at 9:07

4 Answers 4

up vote 11 down vote accepted

The word you're looking for is everted (turned inside out). Sorry if it's a bit stomach-churning, but here are 884 written references to everted stomachs. Surprisingly, most of them are nothing to do with dissected dead specimens - quite a few animals evert their stomachs to feed, including starfish.

Inverted can also mean inside out, but then it can mean 'swapped' in all sorts of other ways too.

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+1 - I've never heard of the word before, but it certainly is helpful to know. –  George Edison May 27 '11 at 3:52

Yes, inverted can mean inside out: inverted balloon, inverted condom.

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"Inverted" seems better reserved for "upside down"; "everted" applies to something that is inside out.

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Inverted can also mean that something's state has been changed from the current state.

For example

  1. Inverted transistor
  2. Current Inverters, which changes the current flow direction.

  3. Inverting a two-way jacket.

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Doesn't your third example indicate that something has become inside out? –  George Edison May 27 '11 at 5:03
Yeah thats what I meant to say –  Kirk Hammett May 27 '11 at 5:12

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