INFLECTION

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does inflection mean? 

• INFLECTION (noun)
  The noun INFLECTION has 4 senses:

1. a change in the form of a word (usually by adding a suffix) to indicate a change in its grammatical function

2. the patterns of stress and intonation in a language

3. deviation from a straight or normal course

4. a manner of speaking in which the loudness or pitch or tone of the voice is modified

  Familiarity information: INFLECTION used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INFLECTION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A change in the form of a word (usually by adding a suffix) to indicate a change in its grammatical function

Classified under:

Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas

Synonyms:

inflection; inflexion

Hypernyms ("inflection" is a kind of...):

grammatical relation (a linguistic relation established by grammar)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "inflection"):

conjugation (the inflection of verbs)

declension (the inflection of nouns and pronouns and adjectives in Indo-European languages)

paradigm (systematic arrangement of all the inflected forms of a word)

pluralisation; pluralization (the act of pluralizing or attributing plurality to)

Derivation:

inflect (change the form of a word in accordance as required by the grammatical rules of the language)

inflectional (characterized by inflections indicating grammatical distinctions)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The patterns of stress and intonation in a language

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

inflection; prosody

Hypernyms ("inflection" is a kind of...):

delivery; manner of speaking; speech (your characteristic style or manner of expressing yourself orally)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "inflection"):

intonation; modulation; pitch contour (rise and fall of the voice pitch)

caesura (a break or pause (usually for sense) in the middle of a verse line)

enjambement; enjambment (the continuation of a syntactic unit from one line of verse into the next line without a pause)

accent; emphasis; stress (the relative prominence of a syllable or musical note (especially with regard to stress or pitch))

rhythm; speech rhythm (the arrangement of spoken words alternating stressed and unstressed elements)

Derivation:

inflect (vary the pitch of one's speech)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Deviation from a straight or normal course

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

flection; flexion; inflection

Hypernyms ("inflection" is a kind of...):

departure; deviation; difference; divergence (a variation that deviates from the standard or norm)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A manner of speaking in which the loudness or pitch or tone of the voice is modified

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

inflection; modulation

Hypernyms ("inflection" is a kind of...):

delivery; manner of speaking; speech (your characteristic style or manner of expressing yourself orally)

Derivation:

inflect (vary the pitch of one's speech)

 Context examples 

She had, likewise, a fierce and a hard eye: it reminded me of Mrs. Reed's; she mouthed her words in speaking; her voice was deep, its inflections very pompous, very dogmatical,—very intolerable, in short.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)