inflection

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"Such a little chap, with an appealing voice, while his inflection was the smallest part of what he was saying.

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Definitions (12)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (7)

  1. noun The act of inflecting or the state of being inflected.
  2. noun Alteration in pitch or tone of the voice.
  3. noun Grammar An alteration of the form of a word by the addition of an affix, as in English dogs from dog, or by changing the form of a base, as in English spoke from speak, that indicates grammatical features such as number, person, mood, or tense.

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Examples (50)

  • A question is uttered with rising inflection, that is, with a higher pitch at the end. —  The Principles of English Versification
  • For another thing that these people have preserved is a softness of voice and an inflection which is Elizabethan rather than twentieth century American Having grown to know him fairly well, I fished for an invitation to visit his home. —  Contrary Mary
  • "Such a little chap, with an appealing voice, while his inflection was the smallest part of what he was saying. —  Michael O'Halloran
  • None of these bodies were in the least attacked by the secretion, and they caused only that moderate amount of inflection which is common to all inorganic objects. —  Insectivorous Plants
  • A particle of cinder, chalk, or sand, will also incite the bending, if actually brought in contact with the gland, not merely resting on the drop; but the inflection is then much less pronounced and more transient. —  Darwiniana; Essays and Reviews Pertaining to Darwinism
 

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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

intonation ·  accent ·  cadence ·  pronunciation ·  emphasis ·  nuance ·  undertone ·  timbre ·  rhythm ·  tremor ·  lilt ·  gesture

Used in the same contextWord Family

inflection:   inflections
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

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/ɪnˈflɛkʃən/
by American Heritage

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