Obversions

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A process of expressing a contradiction by negating a statement or assertion
2. The act of presenting a logical opposite or counter to a specific idea or proposition
3. A method of transformation in which a concept is reframed to highlight opposing attributes or interpretations

Etymology: Obversions is the plural of "obversion," a noun formed from Latin "obversio," meaning "a turning towards." The Latin word is built from "ob," "towards" or "against," and "vertere," "to turn," the same root that gives English "verse," "version" and "reverse." The image is of turning something to face you, which is why the English word came to mean presenting the opposite side of a question. In logic, an obversion is a specific transformation of a proposition: the statement is changed to its negated counterpart while keeping the same truth value, so "All S is P" becomes "No S is non-P." The idea of turning a proposition to face its opposite is what gives the term its meaning here.

Synonyms: contrapositives, inversions