inflections

IPA/ɪnˈflek.ʃən/
KK[ˌɪnflˈɛkʃənz]IPA/ɪnˈflek.ʃən/

inflections — noun

  • inflectionssingular
  • inflectionsesplural

1. The way a speaker's voice rises or falls in pitch while talking, used to express

1.名詞B2
釋義

The way a speaker's voice rises or falls in pitch while talking, used to express meaning, emotion, or emphasis — such as letting your voice go up at the end of a question.

例句

Anya's voice rose with a questioning inflection when she said, 'You're really moving to Taipei?'

questioning inflection + rising pitch for questions

Zayd could tell from his mother's inflection that she was annoyed, though her words sounded polite.

同義詞
  • intonation

    broader; refers to the overall pitch pattern across a phrase or sentence

  • pitch

    refers to the highness or lowness of sound, not specifically the change

  • modulation

    more formal; implies deliberate control over voice quality

  • tone

    refers more to emotional quality than to pitch movement

反義詞
  • monotone

    a flat, unchanging pitch with no inflection

文法句型

with + inflection

rising/falling + inflection

questioning + inflection

用法筆記

Unlike the grammar sense (sense 2), this sense describes spoken language features. It is closely related to 'intonation' but focuses on short pitch movements on individual words or syllables rather than the overall melody of a sentence.

常見錯誤

❌Her voice had a falling intonation at the end of the sentence.
✅Her voice had a falling inflection at the end of the sentence.
💡'intonation' refers to the overall melody across a phrase; 'inflection' is a more precise term for pitch change on a word or syllable. However, in everyday conversation, many speakers use them interchangeably.

2. A way in grammar where a suffix is added or the word's shape is altered to show

2.名詞B2
釋義

A way in grammar where a suffix is added or the word's shape is altered to show its function in a sentence — for example, adding -ed to a regular verb to mark the past tense, or adding -s to a noun to indicate more than one.

例句

In English, adding -s to a noun is a common inflection marking the plural.

inflection + marks + plural form

Tanvi learned about verb inflections like the -ed ending for past tense in grammar class.

同義詞
  • ending

    less technical; refers to the specific suffix rather than the process

  • conjugation

    refers only to verb inflections, not nouns or adjectives

  • declension

    refers only to noun, pronoun, or adjective inflection; more formal and less common

  • affixation

    broader; includes prefixes and infixes, not just inflectional suffixes

文法句型

inflection of + noun

verb/noun + inflection

用法筆記

Primarily used in linguistics and language-teaching contexts. Learners of highly inflected languages such as Latin, Russian, or Arabic encounter inflectional patterns very frequently.

常見錯誤

❌The -ed inflectional shows past tense.
✅The -ed inflection shows past tense.
💡'inflection' is the noun; 'inflectional' is the adjective form.
❌Inflections in English is complicated.
✅Inflections in English are complicated.
💡'inflections' is plural, so the verb must agree.