inflect

I1N1F4L1E1C3T1
/ɪnˈflɛkt/

verb

To cause to curve inwards.

“The actress has a great skill of being able to inflect her voice to any situation.”

Similar
inbendtonemodulate
OriginLatin īnflectō →
UncommonScrabble 12
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Meanings

verbinflect (third-person singular simple present inflects, present participle inflecting, simple past and past participle inflected)

present singular third person inflects · participle present inflecting · participle past inflected · past inflected

  1. transitiveTo cause to curve inwards.

    Synonyms: inbend

  2. transitiveentertainmentTo change the tone or pitch of the voice when speaking or singing.

    The actress has a great skill of being able to inflect her voice to any situation.

  3. transitivegrammarTo vary the form of a word to express tense, gender, number, mood, etc.
  4. intransitivegrammarTo be varied in the form to express tense, gender, number, mood, etc.

    In Latin, adjectives and nouns inflect a lot, but inflection is minimally found in Modern English.

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo cause to curve inwards.

Similar
inbend

More synonyms by meaning

verbvary the pitch of one's speech

Similar
tonemodulate
Broader
talkspeakutter
Also see
modulatetone

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinīnflectō
  2. Englishinflect

From Latin īnflectō, from in- (“in”) + flectō (“to bend”).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian извивам навътре, модулирам
  • извивам навътре (izvivam navătre)cause to curve inwards
  • модулирам (moduliram)music: change tone or pitch
  • скланям (sklanjam)grammar: vary the form of a word
  • спрягам (sprjagam)grammar: vary the form of a word
Czech ohýbat
  • ohýbatgrammar: vary the form of a word
Danish bøje
  • bøjegrammar: vary the form of a word
Dutch verbuigen, verbuigen
  • verbuigencause to curve inwards
  • verbuigengrammar: vary the form of a word
Esperanto fleksii
  • fleksiigrammar: vary the form of a word
Finnish taivuttaa sisäänpäin, muuttaa äänensävyä
  • taivuttaa sisäänpäincause to curve inwards
  • muuttaa äänensävyämusic: change tone or pitch
  • taivuttaagrammar: vary the form of a word
  • vaikuttaainfluence in style
French infléchir
  • infléchirgrammar: vary the form of a word
German flektieren, beugen
  • flektierengrammar: vary the form of a word
  • beugengrammar: vary the form of a word
Greek κλίνω
  • κλίνω (klíno)grammar: vary the form of a word
Hungarian ragoz
  • ragozgrammar: vary the form of a word
Italian coniugare, flettere
  • coniugaregrammar: vary the form of a word
  • fletteregrammar: vary the form of a word
Japanese 働く
  • 働く (hataraku)grammar: vary the form of a word
Lithuanian kaityti
  • kaitytigrammar: vary the form of a word
Norwegian bøye
  • bøyegrammar: vary the form of a word
Polish odmieniać, odmienić
  • odmieniaćgrammar: vary the form of a word
  • odmienićgrammar: vary the form of a word
Portuguese variar, flexionar
  • variargrammar: vary the form of a word
  • flexionargrammar: vary the form of a word
Romanian flexiona
  • flexionagrammar: vary the form of a word
Russian сгиба́ть, гнуть
  • сгиба́ть (sgibátʹ)cause to curve inwards
  • гнуть (gnutʹ)cause to curve inwards
  • согну́ть (sognútʹ)cause to curve inwards
  • вгиба́ть (vgibátʹ)cause to curve inwards
  • вогну́ть (vognútʹ)cause to curve inwards
  • модули́ровать (modulírovatʹ)music: change tone or pitch
  • склоня́ть (sklonjátʹ)grammar: vary the form of a word
  • спряга́ть (sprjagátʹ)grammar: vary the form of a word
Spanish modular, conjugar
  • modularmusic: change tone or pitch
  • conjugargrammar: vary the form of a word
  • declinargrammar: vary the form of a word
  • inflexionargrammar: vary the form of a word
Swedish böja
  • böjagrammar: vary the form of a word
Thai ผัน
  • ผัน (pǎn)grammar: vary the form of a word
Turkish ses değiştirmek
  • ses değiştirmekgrammar: vary the form of a word

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with inflect

subjectprojectselectdirecteffectobjectperfectrespectconnectcorrectprotectexpectaffectreflectcollectcheckedsuspectdetectincorrectindirectprospectelectdefectneglect
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

inflect. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inflect

MLA

“inflect.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inflect. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “inflect,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inflect.

Source: inflect on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.