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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

retroflex.

Bent or curved backwards.

9 characters3 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/ˈɹɛt.ɹəʊ.flɛks/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɹɛt.ɹə.flɛks/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɹɛt.ɹoʊ.flɛks/General-American/ˈɹɛt.ɹə.flɛks/General-American
  1. Bent or curved backwards.

  2. Of pronunciation in which the tip of the tongue is raised and bent backwards, so that the underside of the tongue approaches or touches the palate.

  3. Of pronunciation in which the tip of the tongue approaches or touches the back of the alveolar ridge.

  4. Of pronunciation in which the blade of the tongue approaches or touches the back of the alveolar ridge.

  5. Of any of the aforementioned pronunciations.

Where this word comes from

From Latin rētrōflexus, the perfect participle of rētrōflectō (“bend, turn”), from flectō (“bend, turn”).

noun/ˈɹɛt.ɹəʊ.flɛks/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɹɛt.ɹə.flɛks/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɹɛt.ɹoʊ.flɛks/General-American/ˈɹɛt.ɹə.flɛks/General-American
  1. A consonant pronounced with the underside of the tongue approaching or touching the palate.

  2. A consonant pronounced with the tip of the tongue approaching or touching the back of the alveolar ridge.

  3. A consonant pronounced with the blade of the tongue approaching or touching the back of the alveolar ridge.

  4. Any of the aforementioned consonants.

Where this word comes from

From Latin rētrōflexus, the perfect participle of rētrōflectō (“bend, turn”), from flectō (“bend, turn”).

verb/ˈɹɛt.ɹəʊ.flɛks/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɹɛt.ɹə.flɛks/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɹɛt.ɹoʊ.flɛks/General-American/ˈɹɛt.ɹə.flɛks/General-American
  1. To bend or curve backwards.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

From Latin rētrōflexus, the perfect participle of rētrōflectō (“bend, turn”), from flectō (“bend, turn”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.