retroflex

UK/ˈɹɛt.ɹəʊ.flɛks//ˈɹɛt.ɹoʊ.flɛks/

retroflex adjective: bent or curved backwards.

Adjective

retroflex (comparative more retroflex, superlative most retroflex)

Bent or curved backwards.

Synonyms:

retroflexed, retroflexive, reflexed, reflected

Antonyms:

nonretroflex, unretroflexed
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.
- Near-synonyms: subapical, palatal
- In the case of the Wubuy alveolar versus retroflex contrast for instance, we argue that the phonetic overlap is so great that native listeners can behave as if this were an instance of a good and a 'less good' instance of a single category (CG).2015 December 4, “Discrimination of Multiple Coronal Stop Contrasts in Wubuy (Australia): A Natural Referent Consonant Account”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI
Synonyms:

subapical, palatal
Of pronunciation in which the tip of the tongue approaches or touches the back of the alveolar ridge.
- Near-synonyms: apical, postalveolar
Synonyms:

apical, postalveolar
Of pronunciation in which the blade of the tongue approaches or touches the back of the alveolar ridge.
- Near-synonyms: laminal, postalveolar
Synonyms:

laminal, postalveolar
(general sense) Of any of the aforementioned pronunciations.
- Near-synonym: rhotic
Synonyms:

cacuminal, cerebral, rhotic

Noun

retroflex (plural retroflexes)

A consonant pronounced with the underside of the tongue approaching or touching the palate.
A consonant pronounced with the tip of the tongue approaching or touching the back of the alveolar ridge.
A consonant pronounced with the blade of the tongue approaching or touching the back of the alveolar ridge.
(general sense) Any of the aforementioned consonants.

Verb

retroflex (third-person singular simple present retroflexes, present participle retroflexing, simple past and past participle retroflexed)

(transitive) To bend or curve backwards.
- […] retroflexing the endoscope tip and mechanically rotating the transducer.2010, Stephen Nicholls, Stephen Worthley, Cardiovascular Imaging for Clinical Practice, page 123

retroflex meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

retroflex in Hindi

retroflex: मूर्धन्य mūrdhanya

retroflex in Tamil

நரம்பு ஒலி, நாவளை ஒலி

retroflex in Urdu

پیچھے جھکا ہوا

retroflex in Bengali

retroflex , ঠ , ড , ঢ , ণ , র and ষ: মূর্ধন্য murdhonno

More languagesFewer languages

retroflex in Kannada: ಮಡಚುಲಿ, ಮಡಚಿದ
retroflex in Punjabi: ਟਵਰਗ ṭavrag, ٹَوَرْگ ṭauarg
retroflex in Odia: ମୂର୍ଦ୍ଧନ୍ୟ murddhanya
retroflex in Assamese: মূৰ্ধন্য murdhoinno
retroflex in Arabic: مُرْتَدّ murtadd
retroflex in Thai: เสียงปลายลิ้นม้วน

Synonyms of retroflex

2 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of retroflex

Forms of retroflex

Adjective
comparative	more retroflex
superlative	most retroflex
Noun
plural	retroflexes
Verb
third-person singular present	retroflexes
present participle	retroflexing
past participle	retroflexed
past	retroflexed

Origin of retroflex

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

Words formed from retroflex

Phrases with retroflex

retroflex hooks

Questions about retroflex

What does retroflex mean?: Retroflex means bent or curved backwards.
What is retroflex in Hindi?: Retroflex in Hindi is मूर्धन्य (mūrdhanya). See Retroflex meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is retroflex?: Retroflex can be an adjective, a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce retroflex?: Retroflex is pronounced /ˈɹɛt.ɹəʊ.flɛks/ (UK).

Words near retroflex in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-retroflex.ogg.

Cite this entry: “retroflex.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/retroflex. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.