ə̇nˈflekt verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English inflecten, from Latin inflectere, from in- in- (II) + flectere to bend, turn
transitive verb
1. : to turn from a direct line or course : bend , curve
in him … snobbery reappeared … as the refusal of reality unless it was highly inflected — V.S.Pritchett
profound feeling for music has inflected all his major works — Irving Kolodin
2. : to give inflection to (a word) : vary (a word) by inflection : decline
inflect a noun
: conjugate
inflect a verb
3. : to change or vary the pitch of (as the voice or an utterance) : modulate
4. : to bend (part of a plant) inward toward the main axis of the part or body
intransitive verb
: to become modified by inflection
languages in which adjectives inflect like nouns