inflection

especially British, in·flex·ion

[in-flek-shuhn]

noun

1. modulation of the voice; change in pitch or tone of voice.

2. Grammar.,  Also

   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.

Other Word Forms

• inflectionless adjective
• preinflection noun
• inflectional adjective
• inflectionally adverb

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

“The U.S. is at an inflection point,” a spokesperson for LGBTQ+ rights organization GLAAD, who declined to provide their name out of fear of harassment, told Salon.

From Salon

Americans are paying attention to the current political moment to see what the rise in socialist candidates like himself means, he said, and that’s an inflection point critical to determining the Democratic Party’s future.

From Salon

"We're at an inflection point between those who argue that autocracy is the best way forward and those who understand that democracy is essential," Biden said in 2021.

From BBC

As both Bell and Oliver pointed out, that’s precisely why Kimmel’s benching, temporarily though it turned out to be, is a political inflection point.

From Salon

Lyons’ arrival would be a major inflection point.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• articulation 
• pronunciation 
• timbre 
• tone of voice www.thesaurus.com