inflection

American  

[in-flek-shuhn] / ɪnˈflɛk ʃən /

especially British, inflexion

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.

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inflection British  

/ 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

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inflection Cultural  

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.

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Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of inflection

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

Example Sentences

It called the advent of generative AI "an inflection point in the trajectory of technological evolution".

From Barron's

“We’re at an inflection point” as banks and payments and digital assets converge, said Walter J. Mix III, head of the financial services group at the consulting firm BRG.

From The Wall Street Journal

Notably, that powerful run itself began with a bullish hammer followed by a bullish engulfing candle, underscoring how influential monthly candlesticks have been in marking major inflection points.

From Barron's

Therefore, he sees the upcoming earnings report as “the beginning of an inflection point for shares.”

From MarketWatch

Rivian Automotive has shareholders eager for what its CEO described as a potential “inflection point.”

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• articulation
• pronunciation
• timbre
• tone of voice