inflection

American  

[in-flek-shuhn] / ɪnˈflɛk ʃən /

especially British, inflexion

noun

inflections plural

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 (contrasted with 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

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• inflections
  plural

Etymology

Origin of inflection

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

Explanation

Inflection refers to the ups and downs of a language. Even if you can’t understand Italian yet, the inflection in your professor’s voice should tip you off to whether she's asking a question, giving a command, or making a joke. What began in the 1500s as a noun of action spelled inflexion has since evolved into inflection, a word with grammatical connotation. Inflection most often refers to the pitch and tone patterns in a person’s speech: where the voice rises and falls. But inflection also describes a departure from a normal or straight course. When you change, or bend, the course of a soccer ball by bouncing it off another person, that’s an example of inflection.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

inflection inflections

This is an inflection point, with Iran poised precariously between old certainties and future possibilities, both at home and abroad.

From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026

“You’re at an inflection point in the future for Dubai,” said William Wechsler, the director of Middle East Programs at the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

The artificial intelligence boom has been roaring for a few years now, but a few key factors have made this summer a particular inflection point.

From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026

But this is 2026, and healthcare is at a technological inflection point.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 27, 2026

Both an author and a grad student at Columbia now, I affected an outerborough inflection at readings and in interviews that had become thick enough to require subtitles.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

“With valuations having almost doubled off the bottoms post Q1, and on-cycle names unlikely to show material inflections, we lean more cautious heading into the on-cycle prints,” the analysts write.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

As first-quarter earnings loom “amidst parabolic AI revenue inflections at foundational model leaders,” Citi Research analysts expect the concerns around the durability of business models for software-as-a-service companies to intensify in the months ahead.

From Barron's ● Apr. 10, 2026

On Karma, that includes everything from the Brazilian funk rhythms of Ceremony, to pop-punk inflections of In My Head, which riffs on the sounds of Good Charlotte and Avril Lavigne.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2025

Suede, with its glam inflections and high-drama songs, didn’t slot neatly into either camp.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2025

I thought to look at all the children, the many colors of them, listen to the shouting music of their mixed-up voice, inflections of a hundred home languages.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee

Related Words

• articulation
• pronunciation
• timbre
• tone of voice