refract

[ri-frakt]

verb (used with object)

1. to subject to refraction.

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

refract

/ rɪˈfrækt /

verb

1. to cause to undergo refraction

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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of refract¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of refract¹

C17: from Latin refractus broken up, from refringere , from _re- + frangere to break

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.

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Every subsequent loss is refracted through that lens.

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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.

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

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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.

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