inflect

/ɪnˈflɛkt/

Other forms: inflected; inflecting; inflects

To inflect is to speak in a way that reflects — and changes with — your mood. After hearing tragic news, you'll inflect what you say with the sadness you feel.

The changing pitch of your voice inflects your words with meaning, and another way to inflect is to change the form of a word for grammatical reasons, including tense, number, or gender. When you inflect verbs, it's also called conjugation. For example, when you change the verb "to be" from "I am" to "we are," you inflect it. The Latin root of inflect is inflectere, "to bend," and also "to change."

Definitions of inflect

1. verb

   vary the pitch of one's speech
   synonyms: modulate, tone

   type of:

   mouth, speak, talk, utter, verbalise, verbalize

   express in speech
2. verb

   change the form of a word in accordance as required by the grammatical rules of the language
   types:

   compare

   to form the comparative or superlative form on an adjective or adverb

   decline

   inflect for number, gender, case, etc., "in many languages, speakers decline nouns, pronouns, and adjectives"

   conjugate

   add inflections showing person, number, gender, tense, aspect, etc.

   pluralise, pluralize

   mark with a grammatical morpheme that indicates plural

   type of:

   modify

   make less severe or harsh or extreme