as in curved
to change from a straight line or course to a curved one
tree limbs inflecting toward the trunk
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Recent Examples of inflected
His own voice is nasal and inflected, a deft instrument that can carve a slice of experiences ranging from comic to tragic.
—
Literary Hub, 5 Feb. 2026
To add to the complexity, smoke taint is inflected by subtle distinctions between grape varietals, too.
—Nicola Twilley, New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2026
But sure enough, the artist born Frederick John Philip Gibson enlisted Amy Taylor and company for his drum n’ bass-inflected latest single, harnessing the group’s energy and then exploding it with Gesaffelstein-like sirens and typically all-over-the-place vocal triggers.
—Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 3 Oct. 2025
Despite the risks, the approach worked; sales for the first half of 2025 finally show a positive trend led by the QX80 and its smaller three-row crossover sibling, the QX60, also inflected with much of the new design language.
—Scotty Reiss, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
By the early 2000s, Rolling Stone seemed overly preoccupied with Boomer artists of fading vitality; Spin, while containing punchy criticism, was a glossy consumer magazine inflected by celebrity and fashion.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 29 Aug. 2025
Bird flu has also inflected other animals, including dairy cattle.
—Josh Funk, Chicago Tribune, 10 Apr. 2025
While unwelcome, this might have been dismissed as a fickle and politically inflected data series had it not been preceded by Walmart’s cautious first-quarter guidance, the shortfall in January retail sales, a soft services-sector gauge and rollovers in some travel-and-dining stocks.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 22 Feb. 2025
The upcycling and couture-inflected label formally relaunched in 2022 and counted more than 40 stockists worldwide including Dover Street Market New York and its counterpart in Los Angeles, Ssense and SKP in Beijing.
—Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Literary Hub, 5 Feb. 2026
To add to the complexity, smoke taint is inflected by subtle distinctions between grape varietals, too.
—Nicola Twilley, New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2026
But sure enough, the artist born Frederick John Philip Gibson enlisted Amy Taylor and company for his drum n’ bass-inflected latest single, harnessing the group’s energy and then exploding it with Gesaffelstein-like sirens and typically all-over-the-place vocal triggers.
—Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 3 Oct. 2025
Despite the risks, the approach worked; sales for the first half of 2025 finally show a positive trend led by the QX80 and its smaller three-row crossover sibling, the QX60, also inflected with much of the new design language.
—Scotty Reiss, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
By the early 2000s, Rolling Stone seemed overly preoccupied with Boomer artists of fading vitality; Spin, while containing punchy criticism, was a glossy consumer magazine inflected by celebrity and fashion.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 29 Aug. 2025
Bird flu has also inflected other animals, including dairy cattle.
—Josh Funk, Chicago Tribune, 10 Apr. 2025
While unwelcome, this might have been dismissed as a fickle and politically inflected data series had it not been preceded by Walmart’s cautious first-quarter guidance, the shortfall in January retail sales, a soft services-sector gauge and rollovers in some travel-and-dining stocks.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 22 Feb. 2025
The upcycling and couture-inflected label formally relaunched in 2022 and counted more than 40 stockists worldwide including Dover Street Market New York and its counterpart in Los Angeles, Ssense and SKP in Beijing.
—Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inflected
Verb
-
The two swivel chairs have curved backs that gently rock back and forth, along with plush seat and back cushions.—
Melanie Fincher,
Better Homes & Gardens,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Instead of allover stripes, expect to see razor-thin metallic stripes (like the barcode nail trend coming out of South Korea), curved bands that arc diagonally across a sheer base, or contrasting matte and gloss stripes layered in the same shade for a barely-there effect.—
Annie Blay-Tettey,
Allure,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
And even if a cut there was reflected identically, a 25 basis point reduction will still leave many borrowers with rates in the 20% range.—
Matt Richardson,
CBS News,
24 Feb. 2026
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In a vivid indication that the divisions in the country are reflected in Congress, a large number of Democrats are expected to skip the president’s speech entirely.—
Jonathan Karl,
ABC News,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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One veered off the road, hitting them both Four people, including the two drivers, were taken to the hospital, where Smith, 49, and Arlia, 45, later died of their injuries.—
Jamie Landers,
Dallas Morning News,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Dickinson was known to share strong opinions that veered negative and even mean-spirited on the judging panel.—
Malia Mendez,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Based on the 1992 campy classic movie starring Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, Bruce Willis and Isabella Rossellini, the stage musical bowed on Broadway in 2024.—
Rod Stafford Hagwood,
Sun Sentinel,
24 Feb. 2026
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The photograph through the cross panes of Patrick’s window showed an unnamed doctor—Hughes—in scrubs and a white mask, head bowed, looking down at what was the baby’s incubator, though all that was visible on the cover was a fuzzy black smear in the lower-right corner.—
Steven Levingston,
Vanity Fair,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
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How will organizations like the New York City Partnership — which bent over backwards since the primary to normalize the new mayor — react?—
Paul Francis,
New York Daily News,
22 Feb. 2026
-
Her legs bent horribly, as if in flight, one from the other.—
Vinson Cunningham,
New Yorker,
21 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Inflected.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inflected. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
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