Flect-, Flex-

Roots with similar meanings:

• gon- meaning “corner, angle, knee”

Roots with opposite meanings:

• orth- meaning “straight”
• rect-, reg-, -rig- meaning “straight, direct”

Roots that could be confused:

Notes:

Derived English Words

Commonly encountered words are in bold.

Deflect: To cause something to change direction; to turn aside.

Deflectometer: An instrument used to measure deflection or bending.

Exflect: To bend or turn outward.

Flect: To bend or curve.

Flection: The act or state of bending or being bent.

Flector: A device or part that bends or reflects.

Genuflect: To bend the knee, especially in worship or reverence.

Genuflection: The act of bending the knee as a sign of respect.

Inflect: To change or vary the form or pitch of something, especially in grammar or voice.

Inflection: The modulation of pitch or tone in the voice or changes in word forms to express different grammatical categories.

Postflection: The act or instance of bending backward or beyond.

Preflection: The act or state of bending forward or before.

Reflect: To cast back light, heat, or sound from a surface.

Reflectance: The measure of the ability of a surface to reflect light or other radiation.

Reflection: The return of light, sound, or heat after striking a surface.

Retroflected: Bent or turned backward.

Retroreflector: A device that reflects radiation, such as light, back to the source.

Circumflect: To bend or curve around; to surround.

Circumflex: A diacritical mark (^) placed over a vowel, indicating a certain pronunciation or tone.

Flex: To bend a limb or body part.

Flexible: Capable of bending easily without breaking.

Flexile: Readily bent; flexible.

Flexion: The action of bending or the condition of being bent, especially of a limb or joint.

Flexor: A muscle that causes a limb or joint to bend.

Reflex: An automatic response to a stimulus, involving a bending or movement without conscious thought.

Other Uses

Circumflex artery: One of the coronary arteries.

Links

List of Greek and Latin roots in English – Wikipedia

Words Derived from Roots

Greek Alphabet

Other Roots Used in These Words

Root	Meaning
circum-	around
de-	down, away from, removing
ex-	from, out
gon-	corner, angle, knee
in-	in, on
retro-	backward, behind