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

Explanation

Things that refract light — like lenses and prisms — bend it. If you've looked through a water droplet on a car windshield, you've seen water refract light. You're most likely to come across the verb refract when you're studying physics and the properties of light waves. We come across examples of this everyday, though — when you study a straw in a glass of water, you see the water refract light in a way that makes the straw look bent or jagged. A rainbow also happens when raindrops refract light, breaking it into its component colors. In Latin, refract means "broken up."

Example Sentences

Apparently, a lot of folks feel seeing people in the real world is too taxing, and it's easier to refract your urge for connection to an app that offers only an inch-deep simulacrum.

From Salon • Jan. 19, 2025

Unlike the shallow foveae found in human eyes, bird eyes have deep central foveae, which refract the incoming light to a large extent.

From Science Daily • May 30, 2024

“We mourn her loss but it’s a comfort to know that her penetrating works will dazzle, shine and refract in the minds of readers for generations to come,” Farmer said.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 17, 2023

Recent Barth still-life pictures of vessels on a tabletop refract the light, holding it within volumes while you remember the clusters of bottles and bowls in the paintings of Giorgio Morandi.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 7, 2023

They refract it through their glasses so she cannot see, so she cannot identify the guilty ones.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García