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Definition of inflection
1 : the act or result of curving or bending : bend
2 : change in pitch or loudness of the voice
3a : the change of form that words undergo to mark such distinctions as those of case, gender, number, tense, person, mood, or voiceb : a form, suffix, or element involved in such variationc : accidence
4a : change in curvature of an arc or curve from concave to convex or converselyb : inflection point
From the M-W Editors
Examples of inflection in a Sentence
She spoke with no inflection.
She read the lines with an upward inflection.
Most English adjectives do not require inflection.
“Gone” and “went” are inflections of the verb “go.”
English has fewer inflections than many other languages.
Recent Examples of inflection from the Web
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But the cancer system of the 20th Century must be reimagined for the 21st Century to match the breakthroughs, creating an inflection point in this fight.
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Not full-bore faith, by the inflection of his words.
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To me, English sounds great with inflections from other languages.
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But the idea is reaching an inflection point with the emergence of Microsoft's latest computers, the Surface Laptop and Surface Studio.
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Silicon Valley, the greatest wealth-generation machine in the history of the world, is at an inflection point.
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Research has confirmed as much: As Douglas noted, a handful of studies have demonstrated that uptalkers rely on the inflection to keep their conversation partner engaged and attentive.
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The Arab-Israeli war that took place in June of 1967 was undeniably a major watershed in modern Middle Eastern history and a fundamental inflection point in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
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The eight actors sat in chairs and read with inflection and emotion, interacting with each other in telling the story of how the animals overthrew their owner and then how the pigs established a totalitarian state of their own.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'inflection'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
Changing the pitch, tone, or loudness of our words are ways we communicate meaning in speech, though not on the printed page. A rising inflection at the end of a sentence generally indicates a question, and a falling inflection indicates a statement, for example. Another way of inflecting words is by adding endings: -s to make a noun plural, -ed to put a verb in the past tense, -er to form the comparative form of an adjective, and so on.
First Known Use of inflection
1531
Other Grammar and Linguistics Terms
INFLECTION Defined for English Language Learners
inflection
playDefinition of inflection for English Language Learners
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: a rise or fall in the sound of a person's voice : a change in the pitch or tone of a person's voice
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grammar : a change in the form of a word that occurs when it has a particular use
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: a form of a word that occurs when it has a particular use : an inflected form
INFLECTION Defined for Kids
inflection
playDefinition of inflection for Students
1 : a change in the pitch of a person's voice
2 : a change in a word that shows a grammatical difference (as of number, person, or tense)
Medical Dictionary
inflection
Medical Definition of inflection
: the act or result of curving or bending
Learn More about inflection
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See words that rhyme with inflection Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for inflection Spanish Central: Translation of inflection Nglish: Translation of inflection for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of inflection for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about inflection
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