inflect

[in-flekt]

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verb (used with object)

to modulate (the voice).

Grammar.

to apply inflection to (a word).
to recite or display all or a distinct set of the inflections of (a word); decline or conjugate.

to bend; turn from a direct line or course.

Botany. to bend in.

verb (used without object)

Grammar. to be characterized by inflection.

Origin of inflect

1375–1425; late Middle English inflecten < Latin inflectere to bend in, equivalent to in- in-² + flectere to bend, curve; cf. flex¹

Related formsin·flect·ed·ness, nounin·flec·tive, adjectivein·flec·tor, nounnon·in·flect·ed, adjectiveun·in·flect·ed, adjectiveun·in·flec·tive, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for inflect

inflect, differ, divide, modify, diverge, range, diversify, fluctuate, alter, vent, deliver, articulate, tell, assert, say, emphasize, utter, announce, proclaim, declare

Examples from the Web for inflect

Historical Examples of inflect

Now it would have been absurd to inflect a long English lesson.
Rites and Ritual
Philip Freeman
Can you so inflect "sprawling in want" and "sitting high" as to suggest a swamp and a mountain-top, or a frog and an angel?
Vocal Expression
Katherine Jewell Everts
(e) To memorize words and to learn to inflect them, before memorizing and learning how to construct sentences.
The Principles of Language-Study
Harold E. Palmer
And we yet retain an objective case of the pronoun, and inflect it for person, number and gender.
The American Language
Henry L. Mencken

British Dictionary definitions for inflect

inflect

verb

(grammar) to change (the form of a word) or (of a word) to change in form by inflection

(tr) to change (the voice) in tone or pitch; modulate

(tr) to cause to deviate from a straight or normal line or course; bend

Derived Formsinflectedness, nouninflective, adjectiveinflector, noun

Word Origin for inflect

C15: from Latin inflectere to curve round, alter, from flectere to bend

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for inflect

early 15c., "to bend inward," from Latin inflectere (past participle inflexus) "to bend in, bow, curve," figuratively, "to change," from in- "in" (see in- (1)) + flectere "to bend" (see flexible). Grammatical sense is attested 1660s; pronunciation sense (in inflection) is c.1600. Related: Inflected; inflecting.