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   In·flect

   /inˈflek(t)/

   

   verb

   • 1. change the form of (a word) to express a particular grammatical function or attribute, typically tense, mood, person, number, case, and gender: "Arabic verbs are inflected for person, number, and gender"
   • ▪ (of a word or a language containing such words) undergo inflection: "all of these words inflect irregularly"
   • 2. vary the intonation or pitch of (the voice), especially to express mood or feeling: "his slight voice, inflected with a token touch of grit"
   • ▪ vary the pitch of (a musical note).
   • ▪ influence or color (music or writing) in tone or style: "her analysis may have been inflected by the upsurge of feminism"
   • 3. bend or deflect (something), especially inward: technical "particles readily inflect, deflect and jostle one another"

   Word Origin late Middle English (in inflect (sense 3)): from Latin inflectere, from in- ‘into’ + flectere ‘to bend’.

   Derivatives

   • 1. inflective adjective

   Scrabble Points: 12

   • I

     1

   • N

     1

   • F

     4

   • L

     1

   • E

     1

   • C

     3

   • T

     1

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