To get a new reversed list, apply the reversed function and collect the items into a list:
>>> xs = [0, 10, 20, 40]
>>> list(reversed(xs))
[40, 20, 10, 0]
To iterate backwards through a list:
>>> xs = [0, 10, 20, 40]
>>> for x in reversed(xs):
... print(x)
40
20
10
0
Top answer 1 of 16
1735
To get a new reversed list, apply the reversed function and collect the items into a list:
>>> xs = [0, 10, 20, 40]
>>> list(reversed(xs))
[40, 20, 10, 0]
To iterate backwards through a list:
>>> xs = [0, 10, 20, 40]
>>> for x in reversed(xs):
... print(x)
40
20
10
0
2 of 16
1542
>>> xs = [0, 10, 20, 40]
>>> xs[::-1]
[40, 20, 10, 0]
Extended slice syntax is explained here. See also, documentation.
GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › python › python-reversing-list
Reversing a List in Python - GeeksforGeeks
Let's see other different methods to reverse a list. reverse() method reverses the elements of the list in-place and it modify the original list without creating a new list. ... This method builds a reversed version of the list using slicing ...
Published November 26, 2025
Why does [::-1] reverse a list?
[Start:stop:step] if you're going in steps by negative one, you're going backwards More on reddit.com
57
187
March 12, 2022Best way to create a "reversed" list in Python? - Stack Overflow
In Python, what is the best way to create a new list whose items are the same as those of some other list, but in reverse order? (I don't want to modify the existing list in place.) Here is one so... More on stackoverflow.com
Reversing a list in Python?
I have no idea what the '::' means Please read about ranges in python. They are used all the time and you really need to understand them. There is reverse() and reversed() in python. One changes the list and the other doesn't change the list, but iterates through it from the back. More on reddit.com
12
1
February 11, 2022Beginner question: assigning variable to list.reverse()
Any idea why assigning variable Y to this does not result in anything? create a list of prime numbers x = [2, 3, 5, 7] reverse the order of list elements y=x.reverse() print(y) More on discuss.python.org
10
0
May 12, 2022Videos
05:16
How To Reverse A List In Python - YouTube
02:44
20 Ways You Can Reverse List in Python - YouTube
02:25
13. How to reverse a list | python coding - 3 - YouTube
00:52
How to Reverse the order of a List in Python | reverse() method ...
00:53
Reversing Python Lists #shorts - YouTube
00:24
#Python How to Reverse a List? - YouTube
W3Schools
w3schools.com › PYTHON › ref_list_reverse.asp
Python List reverse() Method
Remove List Duplicates Reverse ... Q&A Python Bootcamp Python Certificate Python Training ... The reverse() method reverses the sorting order of the elements. ... The built-in function reversed() returns a reversed iterator ...
Mimo
mimo.org › glossary › python › list-reverse-method
Python List reverse() Method: Syntax, Methods, and Examples
Learn how to reverse a list in Python using slicing, reverse(), reversed(), and loops. Compare methods, use cases, and performance best practices.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/learnpython › why does [::-1] reverse a list?
r/learnpython on Reddit: Why does [::-1] reverse a list?
March 12, 2022 -
Why would a double colon reverse a list? Is this something we just have to accept or is there some logic?
a = ['corge', 'quux', 'qux', 'baz', 'bar', 'foo'] print(a[::-1])
Codecademy
codecademy.com › article › how-to-reverse-a-list-in-python
How to Reverse a List in Python | Codecademy
Learn how to reverse a list in Python using `.reverse()`, `reversed()`, slicing, the two-pointer method, loops, and recursion with examples.
Programiz
programiz.com › python-programming › methods › list › reverse
Python List reverse()
# List Reverse systems.reverse() # updated list print('Updated List:', systems) ... There are other several ways to reverse a list.
Top answer 1 of 3
243
newlist = oldlist[::-1]
The [::-1] slicing (which my wife Anna likes to call "the Martian smiley";-) means: slice the whole sequence, with a step of -1, i.e., in reverse. It works for all sequences.
Note that this (and the alternatives you mentioned) is equivalent to a "shallow copy", i.e.: if the items are mutable and you call mutators on them, the mutations in the items held in the original list are also in the items in the reversed list, and vice versa. If you need to avoid that, a copy.deepcopy (while always a potentially costly operation), followed in this case by a .reverse, is the only good option.
2 of 3
68
Now let's timeit. Hint: Alex's [::-1] is fastest :)
$ p -m timeit "ol = [1, 2, 3]; nl = list(reversed(ol))"
100000 loops, best of 3: 2.34 usec per loop
$ p -m timeit "ol = [1, 2, 3]; nl = list(ol); nl.reverse();"
1000000 loops, best of 3: 0.686 usec per loop
$ p -m timeit "ol = [1, 2, 3]; nl = ol[::-1];"
1000000 loops, best of 3: 0.569 usec per loop
$ p -m timeit "ol = [1, 2, 3]; nl = [i for i in reversed(ol)];"
1000000 loops, best of 3: 1.48 usec per loop
$ p -m timeit "ol = [1, 2, 3]*1000; nl = list(reversed(ol))"
10000 loops, best of 3: 44.7 usec per loop
$ p -m timeit "ol = [1, 2, 3]*1000; nl = list(ol); nl.reverse();"
10000 loops, best of 3: 27.2 usec per loop
$ p -m timeit "ol = [1, 2, 3]*1000; nl = ol[::-1];"
10000 loops, best of 3: 24.3 usec per loop
$ p -m timeit "ol = [1, 2, 3]*1000; nl = [i for i in reversed(ol)];"
10000 loops, best of 3: 155 usec per loop
Update: Added list comp method suggested by inspectorG4dget. I'll let the results speak for themselves.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/learnprogramming › reversing a list in python?
r/learnprogramming on Reddit: Reversing a list in Python?
February 11, 2022 -
Hey, I'm learning lists in Python. When I try to use the reverse method to reverse my list it returns 'None'. I've read online that apparently this is because it doesn't actually change the list but I'm not sure what that means tbh. Even if it was a temporary modification, wouldn't it print that temporarily modified version of the list instead of printing 'None'? I found another solution (assuming the list is stored in my_list variable), print(my_list[::-1]). I understand that the -1 is referring to the end of the list (and maybe telling it to count back from there), but I have no idea what the '::' means. Would appreciate some help, thanks.
Top answer 1 of 5
2
I have no idea what the '::' means Please read about ranges in python. They are used all the time and you really need to understand them. There is reverse() and reversed() in python. One changes the list and the other doesn't change the list, but iterates through it from the back.
2 of 5
2
The way lists go in python is list[start_index:end_index:step]. By skipping the any of them they default to start_of_list:end_of_list:1. By doing ::-1, you're telling to go from the start of the list till the end by increasing the index by -1.
Towards Data Science
towardsdatascience.com › home › latest › how to reverse python lists more efficiently
How To Reverse Python Lists More Efficiently | Towards Data Science
January 20, 2025 - We can reverse the list using slicing and a step size of 1. >>> my_lst_reversed = my_lst[::-1] >>> my_lst_reversed [80, 100, 40, 25, 30, 0, 10] ... It specifies a negative step size of 1, which means that the element are retrieved in the reversed ...
Real Python
realpython.com › python-reverse-list
Reverse Python Lists: Beyond .reverse() and reversed() – Real Python
June 28, 2023 - A common technique is to loop through the first half of it while swapping each element with its mirror counterpart on the second half of the list. Python provides zero-based positive indices to walk sequences from left to right.
Quora
quora.com › How-do-you-reverse-the-order-of-elements-in-a-list-in-Python
How to reverse the order of elements in a list in Python - Quora
Answer: The . reverse() method in Python is a built-in method that reverses the list in place. Reversing the list in place means that the method modifies and changes the original list.
Top answer 1 of 10
2
reverse modifies the list in-place, so obviously returns None. If you want a new list, call reversed instead. This kind of thing is documented - see the standard library documentation on the sequence types.
2 of 10
1
As @ndc86430 says.
So, to keep the original list as is and create a new reversed version:
x1 = [2, 3, 5, 7]
x2 =[]
y = reversed(x1)
for x in y:
x2.append(x)
print(x1)
print(x2)
Cherry Servers
cherryservers.com › home › blog › python › how to reverse a list in python (using 3 simple ways)
How to Reverse a List in Python (Using 3 Simple Ways) | Cherry Servers
November 7, 2025 - Benefit from an open cloud ecosystem with seamless API & integrations and a Python library. ... To reverse a list in Python, two basic methods are commonly used, the built-in reverse() method and slicing with [::-1].
JanBask Training
janbasktraining.com › community › python-python › how-do-i-reverse-a-list-or-loop-over-it-backwards
How do I reverse a list or loop over it backwards? | JanBask Training Community
June 4, 2025 - ... The reversed() function returns an iterator that yields the elements of the list in reverse order. my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] for item in reversed(my_list): print(item) This does not modify the original list.
DataCamp
datacamp.com › tutorial › python-reverse-list
Python Reverse List: How to Reorder Your Data | DataCamp
February 27, 2025 - If you're starting your Python ... concepts like list handling and data structures. The easiest way to reverse a list in Python is using slicing ([::-1]), which creates a new reversed list without modifying the original:...
Quora
quora.com › How-can-I-reverse-a-list-in-Python-using-pop-and-append
How to reverse a list in Python using .pop() and .append() - Quora
Answer (1 of 3): So pop() by default removes an item from the list (the default is to remove the last item, but there is an index parameter to enable us to pop any item), and append() always adds an item to the end of the list. Lets imagine we have this list : 1, 2, 3, 4 and we want to end up ...
Reddit
reddit.com › r/python › how to reverse a python list (3 methods)
r/Python on Reddit: How to reverse a Python list (3 methods)
February 19, 2022 -
There are three methods you can use to reverse a list:
An in-place reverse, using the built-in reverse method that every list has natively
Using list slicing with a negative step size, resulting in a new list
Create a reverse iterator, with the reversed() function
You can try this for yourself too. Click here to open a runnable/editable example.
Linuxize
linuxize.com › home › python › python list reverse
Python List reverse | Linuxize
August 25, 2020 - To reverse a Python list in place, use the reverse() method.
iO Flood
ioflood.com › blog › python-reverse-list
Python Reverse List: Complete Guide (With Examples)
June 17, 2024 - ... In this example, we have a list named my_list with the elements 1, 2, and 3. We use the reverse() method on my_list, which reverses the order of the elements in the list. When we print my_list, we see that the elements are now in reverse order.