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inflection

Syllabification: (in·flec·tion)
Pronunciation: /inˈflekSHən/

(chiefly British also inflexion)
Translate inflection | into Italian
Definition of inflection

noun

  • 1 Grammar a change in the form of a word (typically the ending) to express a grammatical function or attribute such as tense, mood, person, number, case, and gender.
  • the process or practice of inflecting words.
  • 2the modulation of intonation or pitch in the voice:she spoke slowly and without inflection the variety of his vocal inflections
  • the variation of the pitch of a musical note.
  • 3chiefly Mathematics a change of curvature from convex to concave at a particular point on a curve.

Derivatives

inflectional

Pronunciation: /-SHənl/

adjective

inflectionally

Pronunciation: /-SHənl-ē/

adverb

inflectionless

adjective

Origin:

late Middle English (in the sense 'the action of bending inward'): from Latin inflexio(n-), from the verb inflectere 'bend in, curve' (see inflect)

Grammar

Most nouns and verbs and many adjectives change their form according to how they are used in a sentence. This process is called inflection. Nouns inflect to show the plural:one car → several cars one child → several children Some adjectives inflect to make the comparative and superlative forms:tall → taller → tallest Verbs inflect to show number and person in the present tense:I work → she works They also inflect to show the difference between past and present tenses:I work → I worked I write → I wrote There are also inflections to form the present participle:write → writing and the past participle:write → written

inflection in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of inflection in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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