Python List reverse() Function

The List reverse() method reverses the order of elements in the list in place.

note

The reverse() method does not return any value: it modifies the original list.

Syntax

my_list.reverse()

reverse() Parameters

Python List reverse() function does not take any parameters.

reverse() Return Value

Python List reverse() function does not return any value: it updates the existing list.

Examples

Example 1: Reverse a list with reverse() method

The reverse() method can be used with lists that contain data of any type.

For example, reverse a list of numbers:

numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
numbers.reverse()
print(numbers) # Output: [5, 4, 3, 2, 1]

output

[5, 4, 3, 2, 1]

Or reverse a list of strings:

names = ['Tom', 'Anna', 'David', 'Ryan']
names.reverse()
print(names) # Output: ['Ryan', 'David', 'Anna', 'Tom']

output

['Ryan', 'David', 'Anna', 'Tom']

Example 2: Reversing a List of Mixed Data Types

The reverse() method can reverse a list containing mixed data types too!

my_list = [1, 'Anna', 2, 'David', 3, 'Tom']
my_list.reverse()
print(my_list) # Output: ['Tom', 3, 'David', 2, 'Anna', 1]

output

['Tom', 3, 'David', 2, 'Anna', 1]

reverse() method vs reversed() built-in function

If you do not want to modify the list but access items in reverse order, you can use reversed() built-in function.

It returns the reversed iterator object, with which you can loop through the list in reverse order.

note

• The reverse() method reverses and modifies the original list.
• The reversed() function creates a reversed list without modifying the original list.

original = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
original.reverse() # modify the original list
print(f'Using reverse(): {original}') # Output: [5, 4, 3, 2, 1]

# Using reversed() to create a reversed list without modifying the original (and now reversed) list
reversed_numbers = list(reversed(original))
print(f'Using reversed(): {reversed_numbers}') # Output: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

output

Using reverse(): [5, 4, 3, 2, 1]
Using reversed(): [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]