inflection

For inflection templates, see Wiktionary:Inflection templates.

English

Alternative forms

• inflexion

Etymology

From the English inflexion, from Middle French inflexion, from Latin inflexiō (“a bending away from”); the spelling inflection is due to influence from correction.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪnˈflɛkʃən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛkʃən
• Hyphenation: in‧flec‧tion

Noun

inflection (countable and uncountable, plural inflections)

1. (grammar, uncountable) Change in the form of a word (morphologic change) to express different grammatical categories.

   In English, word order often does the work that inflection did in Latin

2. (grammar, countable) An instance of such change.

   an inflection for gender, number, or tense

   1. (grammar) An affix representing such an instance.

      English's regular inflection for number in plural nouns is the suffix -s.

3. (grammar, countable) Any form produced by such an instance of a change, such as the principal parts for any given stem: any of the declined or conjugated forms that constitute its declension or conjugation.

   Recite every inflection for each of these words.

4. A change in pitch or tone of voice.

   If he's lying, his inflection changes.

5. (mathematics) A change in curvature from concave to convex or from convex to concave.
6. A turning away from a straight course.

   inflection from the rules

7. (optometry) Diffraction.

Synonyms

• flection, flexion

Hyponyms

• (grammar): conjugation
• (grammar): comparison
• (grammar): declension, declination

Related terms

• inflect
• inflected

Translations

change in the form of a word that reflects a change in grammatical function

• Albanian: eptim (sq)
• Armenian: թեքում (hy) (tʿekʿum)
• Bashkir: килеш менән үҙгәреү (kileš menän üðgärew)
• Bulgarian: склонение n (sklonenie)
• Catalan: flexió f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 詞形變化, 词形变化 (cí xíng biànhuà)

• Czech: flexe f, ohýbání (cs) n
• Danish: ^{(please verify)} bøjning (da)
• Dutch: verbuiging (nl) f, vervoeging (nl) f
• Finnish: taivutus (fi)
• French: flexion (fr) f, inflexion (fr) f
• Georgian: ფლექსია (pleksia), მიმოხრა (mimoxra)
• German: Flexion (de) f, Beugung (de) f, Biegung (de) f
• Greek:

  Classical: κλίσις f (klísis), κίνημα n (kínēma), κίνησις f (kínēsis)

  Modern: κλίση (el) f (klísi)

• Hungarian: (the ending itself) rag (hu), (the phenomenon) ragozás (hu)
• Icelandic: beyging (is) f
• Indonesian: infleksi (id)
• Italian: desinenza (it) f, flessione (it) f
• Japanese: 語形変化 (ごけいへんか, gokei henka)

• Korean: 굴절(屈折) (ko) (guljeol), 어형변화(語形變化) (eohyeongbyeonhwa)
• Latin: flexio f, flexura (la) f
• Latvian: locīšana f
• Malagasy: fihilan-teny
• Manx: yn-filley m
• Mongolian: хувирал (mn) (khuviral)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: bøyning m or f, bøying (no) m or f

  Nynorsk: bøying f

• Old English: ġebīeġednes f
• Persian: تصریف‎ (fa) (tasrīf)
• Polish: odmiana (pl) f
• Portuguese: flexão (pt) f
• Romanian: flexiune (ro) f
• Russian: фле́ксия (ru) f (fléksija) (formal), оконча́ние (ru) n (okončánije) (formal), словоизмене́ние (ru) n (slovoizmenénije), измене́ние фо́рмы сло́ва n (izmenénije fórmy slóva)
• Serbo-Croatian: fleksija (sh) f
• Slovak: ohýbanie
• Spanish: flexión (es) f
• Swedish: böjning (sv) c
• Tagalog: sabaylo
• Tajik: оҳанг (tg) (ohang)

change in pitch or tone of voice

• Bulgarian: модулация f (modulacija)
• Catalan: inflexió f
• Danish: modulation
• Finnish: äänenkorkeuden muutos (of pitch), äänensävyn muutos (of tone)
• German: Betonung (de) f
• Icelandic: raddblær m
• Italian: inflessione (it) f, cadenza (it) f, calata (it) f, modulazione (it) f, intonazione (it) f
• Mongolian: ялгаллахуй (yalgallakhui)

• Polish: modulacja f
• Portuguese: inflexão (pt) f, entonação f
• Romanian: inflexiune (ro) f
• Russian: модуля́ция (ru) f (moduljácija)
• Serbo-Croatian: infleksija (sh) f
• Spanish: inflexión (es) f

change in curvature from concave to convex or from convex to concave

• Finnish: käänne (fi)
• Greek: κάμψη (el) f (kámpsi), λύγισμα (el) n (lýgisma)
• Hungarian: inflexió (hu)
• Italian: inflessione (it) f
• Manx: aachassey m

• Portuguese: inflexão (pt) f
• Romanian: inflexiune (ro) f
• Russian: переги́б (ru) n (peregíb), сгиба́ние (ru) n (sgibánije), (medical) фле́ксия (ru) f (fléksija)
• Serbo-Croatian: infleksija (sh) f
• Swedish: inflexionspunkt (sv) c

turning away from a straight course

• Armenian: թեքում (hy) (tʿekʿum)
• Bulgarian: отклонение (bg) n (otklonenie)
• Danish: afvigelse
• Dutch: bocht (nl)
• Finnish: suunnanmuutos
• French: inflexion (fr)

• Manx: lhoobey m
• Old English: ġebīeġednes f
• Portuguese: inflexão (pt) f, desvio (pt) m
• Russian: отклоне́ние (ru) n (otklonénije)
• Serbo-Croatian: otklon (sh) m
• Spanish: inflexión (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Danish: vendepunkt
• Dutch: buigpunt (nl) n
• French: point d'inflexion (fr)

• German: Wendepunkt (de) m
• Spanish: punto de inflexión (es)
• Welsh: ^{(please verify)} treiglad m