Link Centre Dictionary

inflection

inf·lec·tion

UK/ɪnˈflɛkʃən/ US/ˌɪˈnflɛkʃʌn/ uncommon

noun

1.

a change in the form of a word (usually by adding a suffix) to indicate a change in its grammatical function

Synonyms
2.

the patterns of stress and intonation in a language

Synonyms
3.
4.

a manner of speaking in which the loudness or pitch or tone of the voice is modified

Synonyms

Origin

From older inflexion, borrowed from Middle French inflexion, itself borrowed from Latin inflexiōnem (“alteration”, literally “bending”). The English spelling with ⟨ct⟩ is due to influence from inflect or related words like correction.

Phrases

  • inflection point

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.