Synonyms:
inflection, inflexion
Meaning: a change in the form of a word (usually by adding a suffix) to indicate a change in its grammatical function
Synonyms:
prosody, inflection
Meaning: the patterns of stress and intonation in a language
Usage examples
Do not carry any thoughts of inflection with you to the platform.
"Oh, Brigitte!..." cried the Countess, with a heart-rending inflection in her voice.
With a rising inflection on the end it would have been a question. "Are they going to surrender?" It was neither of these.
"Now!" said Sir Nathaniel, and settled down to listen, looking at Adam steadily and listening attentively that he might miss nothing--even the inflection of a word.
If you have been talking on a high pitch, take a low one on your emphatic ideas. Read the chapters on "Inflection," "Feeling," "Pause," "Change of Pitch," "Change of Tempo." Each of these will explain in detail how to get emphasis through the use of a certain principle.
It was now or never. Putting a strong American inflection into the French which I usually talked with an unmistakable British accent, I catechised the Baron as to the date of the church's building, its dimensions, and other details which an American tourist would be certain to want to know.