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Equivalence of Reversed Inequalities

An inequality expresses the same relationship regardless of which side is read first. The expressions a<ba < b or a>ba > b can be read from left to right or right to left, though in English we usually read from left to right. In general, an inequality can be reversed as long as the symbol is flipped. Specifically, a<ba < b is equivalent to b>ab > a, and a>ba > b is equivalent to b<ab < a. For example, 7<117 < 11 is equivalent to 11>711 > 7, and 17>417 > 4 is equivalent to 4<174 < 17. This means every inequality can be rewritten by swapping the two sides and reversing the direction of the symbol.

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Updated 2026-04-22

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