reversals

Reversals refer to the act or instance of turning back, reversing direction, order, or state. The term is used across disciplines to describe changes that undo a previous condition or arrangement. Because reversals can be gradual or abrupt, interpretation depends on context and field conventions.

In finance and technical analysis, a price reversal occurs when a prevailing trend loses momentum and the price begins moving in the opposite direction. Traders look for reversal patterns such as double tops and bottoms, head-and-shoulders formations, or candlestick signals to anticipate trend changes. Distinguishing true reversals from temporary pullbacks is challenging and subject to statistical uncertainty; concepts like mean reversion describe a broader tendency for prices to drift toward historical averages.

In genetics, a reversion mutation restores the original phenotype after a prior mutation, effectively reversing its effect. In pharmacology, reversal refers to agents that counteract or neutralize drug effects, such as antidotes to toxins or reversal agents for anesthesia or anticoagulants.

In linguistics and narrative studies, reversal denotes a turning of typical roles, expectations, or semantic polarity. Examples include role reversal in fiction or the reversal of negation in sentences used as a rhetorical device.

In computing and data processing, reversal involves reversing sequences, strings, or orderings, such as reversing a list or the digits of a number. The notion also appears in algorithms as a reversible operation, an idea central to some cryptographic and computational methods.