inflection

[ in-flek-shuhn ]

noun

1. modulation of the voice; change in pitch or tone of voice.
2. Also Grammar.
   1. the process or device of adding affixes to or changing the shape of a base to give it a different syntactic function without changing its form class.
   2. the paradigm of a word.
   3. a single pattern of formation of a paradigm:

      noun inflection; verb inflection.

   4. the change in the shape of a word, generally by affixation, by means of which a change of meaning or relationship to some other word or group of words is indicated.
   5. the affix added to produce this change, as the -s in dogs or the -ed in played.
   6. the systematic description of such processes in a given language, as in serves from serve, sings from sing, and harder from hard ( derivation ).
3. a bend or angle.
4. Mathematics. a change of curvature from convex to concave or vice versa.

inflection

/ ɪnˈflɛkʃən /

noun

1. modulation of the voice
2. grammar a change in the form of a word, usually modification or affixation, signalling change in such grammatical functions as tense, voice, mood, person, gender, number, or case
3. an angle or bend
4. the act of inflecting or the state of being inflected
5. maths a change in curvature from concave to convex or vice versa See also point of inflection

inflection

1. A change in the form of a word to reflect different grammatical functions of the word in a sentence. English has lost most of its inflections. Those that remain are chiefly possessive ('s), as in “the boy's hat”; plural ( -s ), as in “the three girls ”; and past tense ( -d or -ed ), as in cared . Other inflections are found in pronouns — as in he , him , his — and in irregular words such as think/thought , child/children , and mouse/mice .

Derived Forms

• inˈflectional, adjective
• inˈflectionally, adverb
• inˈflectionless, adjective

Other Words From

• in·flection·less adjective
• prein·flection noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of inflection¹

1525–35; variant spelling of inflexion < Latin inflexiōn- (stem of inflexiō ) a bending. See inflect, -ion

Example Sentences

This autumn marks an inflection point for Olympic organizers as they transition from planning to the nuts-and-bolts of getting things done.

From Los Angeles Times

In an interview after he rallied for Democratic congressional candidates two days before the election, Newsom didn’t want to discuss the reality of the election as a critical inflection point in his own political future.

From Los Angeles Times

“There is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation, and it is the inflection point for me,” DeVos wrote in her letter of resignation to the president.

From BBC

Fifty years later, as we sit at another inflection point in our nation’s history, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre can still offer us a way to understand the dynamics of this moment—and possibly the next.

From Slate

In Slow Burn’s 10th season, host Josh Levin takes you back to a crucial inflection point in American history: the moment between 2000 and 2004 when Fox News first surged to power and a whole bunch of people rose up to try and stop it.

From Slate

Related Words

• articulation
• pronunciation
• timbre
• tone of voice