inflectional

UK: /ɪnˈflekʃənl/ US: (in flek′shə nl)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

in•flec•tion•al  (in flek′shə nl), adj. 

1. Grammar of, pertaining to, or used in inflection:
   an inflectional ending.
2. Linguistics pertaining to or noting a language, as Latin, characterized by the use of inflection, esp. morphemic fusion or irregular morphophonemic alternation. Cf. agglutinative (def. 2), isolating. 

• inflection + -al¹ 1825–35

in•flec′tion•al•ly, adv. 

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

in•flec•tion /ɪnˈflɛkʃən/   n. 

1. change in pitch or tone of voice:
   [uncountable] He spoke with very little inflection in his voice.
2. Grammar
   • [uncountable] the process of adding an affix to a base or root of a word, or otherwise changing the shape of a base or root to give it a different syntactic function without changing its form class, as in forming the past tense served from serve, or in forming the present tense, third person singular form sings from sing, or in forming harder from hard.
   • [countable] an affix added in this process, as the -s in sings or the -ed in played.
   • an inflected form of a word, as sings from sing.

Also,[esp. Brit.,] inflexion.  in•flec•tion•al, adj.: 

inflectional endings in English, such as -est in fastest, or -ing in running.

Compare derivation.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

in•flec•tion  (in flek′shən), n. 

1. modulation of the voice;
   change in pitch or tone of voice.
2. Grammar Also, flection. 
   • Grammar the process or device of adding affixes to or changing the shape of a base to give it a different syntactic function without changing its form class.
   • Grammar the paradigm of a word.
   • Grammar a single pattern of formation of a paradigm:
     noun inflection; verb inflection.
   • Grammar the change in the shape of a word, generally by affixation, by means of which a change of meaning or relationship to some other word or group of words is indicated.
   • Grammar the affix added to produce this change, as the -s in dogs or the -ed in played.
   • Grammar the systematic description of such processes in a given language, as in serves from serve, sings from sing, and harder from hard (contrasted with derivation).
3. a bend or angle.
4. Mathematics a change of curvature from convex to concave or vice versa.

Also,[esp. Brit.,] inflexion. 

• Latin inflexiōn- (stem of inflexiō) a bending. See inflect, -ion
• variant spelling, spelled of inflexion 1525–35

in•flec′tion•less, adj.