Library / English Dictionary

RETROFLEX

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (adjective) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Pronounced with the tip of the tongue turned back toward the hard palate

Synonyms:

cacuminal; retroflex

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

backward (directed or facing toward the back or rear)

Domain category:

linguistics (the scientific study of language)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Bent or curved backward

Synonyms:

retroflex; retroflexed

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

backward (directed or facing toward the back or rear)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Articulate (a consonant) with the tongue curled back against the palate

Example:

Indian accents can be characterized by the fact that speakers retroflex their consonants

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "retroflex" is one way to...):

articulate; enounce; enunciate; pronounce; say; sound out (speak, pronounce, or utter in a certain way)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

retroflexion (an articulatory gesture made by turning the tip of the tongue back against the roof of the mouth)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Bend or turn backward

Synonyms:

replicate; retroflex

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "retroflex" is one way to...):

bend; flex (form a curve)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

retroflection; retroflexion (the act of bending backward)

Credits