# flexion

/ˈfɫɛkʃən/ (US) · /flˈɛkʃən/ (UK) · CEFR C2 · Noun

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/flexion
Updated: 2026-10-19

## Definition

a small change in the form of a word that shows grammar, like tense or plural.

For teachers: a change in the form of a word to mark grammatical distinctions such as tense, number, person, or case. Often treated as a variant of 'inflection' in grammatical description.

## Examples

- English shows flexion in words like go and goes.
- The teacher points out the flexion in 'cats' where the final s marks the plural.
- Languages with rich flexion encode tense and case within the word itself, so learners must attend to endings rather than word order alone.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.