refract

American  

[ri-frakt] / rɪˈfrækt /

verb (used with object)

1. to subject to refraction.

2. to determine the refractive condition of (an eye).

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refract British  

/ rɪˈfrækt /

verb

1. to cause to undergo refraction

2. to measure the refractive capabilities of (the eye, a lens, etc)

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Other Word Forms

• nonrefracting adjective
• refractable adjective
• refractedly adverb
• refractedness noun
• unrefracted adjective
• unrefracting adjective

Etymology

Origin of refract

1605–15; < Latin refrāctus, past participle of refringere to break, force back, equivalent to re- re- + frac- (variant stem of frangere to break ) + -tus past participle suffix

Example Sentences

It’s enough to make a reader hanker for a volume devoted to the director’s long working relationship with Head or for a filmography refracted through the actresses he obsessed over and glorified.

From The Wall Street Journal

Every subsequent loss is refracted through that lens.

From BBC

On the opening “Destination,” a winding and refracted character study, swooning strings trace the singer’s own sense of wonder, as she describes a fellow musician whose life serves as a mirror to her own.

From The Wall Street Journal

Their stories reflect and refract the themes of “On the Road” for today.

From Salon

These machines shoot UV light tens of thousands of times through drops of molten tin, which creates a plasma, and is then refracted through a series of specialised mirrors.

From BBC