refract

[ ri-frakt ]

/ rɪˈfrækt /

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See synonyms for: refract / refracted on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to subject to refraction.

to determine the refractive condition of (an eye).

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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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

OTHER WORDS FROM refract

re·fract·a·ble, adjectivere·fract·ed·ly, adverbre·fract·ed·ness, nounnon·re·fract·ing, adjective

un·re·fract·ed, adjectiveun·re·fract·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use refract in a sentence

Drive through dust or precipitation, and those roof lights will also refract off those particles right in front of your eyes.
The Best Way to Add Driving Lights to a Normal Car|Wes Siler|January 26, 2021|Outside Online
The color is an intense hue that may resemble the blue generated by light refracted through a clear crystal.
In the galleries: Immersive exhibit explores a wonderland in blue|Mark Jenkins|January 22, 2021|Washington Post
It’s a question weighed and refracted in a thousand different ways in Danielle Evans’s “The Office of Historical Corrections,” a magnificent, searing collection of six stories and a novella.
In Danielle Evans’s ‘The Office of Historical Corrections,’ the sorrows are personal but also deeply historical|Chaya Bhuvaneswar|January 15, 2021|Washington Post
Throughout the process, Rushing says, the focus was on refracting the essence, not the specifics, of the 1960 classic.
Alvin Ailey’s ‘Revelations’ has a place of honor in company’s first virtual season|Celia Wren|December 2, 2020|Washington Post

The stories are splintered and refracted, the progressions coiled.
‘True Detective,’ Obsessive-Compulsive Noir, and ‘Twin Peaks’|Jimmy So|March 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It offers the kind of refracted, wormhole narrative that generates comparisons to David Mitchell—deserved in this case.
Our Favorite Books of 2012: Tina Brown, Andrew Sullivan, and Others’ Picks|The Daily Beast|December 11, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Her encounters with Seán—the supposed love of her life, as she frequently states—are hazy, refracted through money and commodity.
Literary Gold in Hard Times|Chloë Schama|November 4, 2011|DAILY BEAST
And in all that refracted glamour there's an empathetic eye, a sadness that speaks.
Paris' Sad Galliano Expo|Tracy McNicoll|June 21, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Attacking Obama and his policies is reliably refracted as racism.
The Inescapable President|Eric Dezenhall|September 18, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The rays of the sun are refracted on the light grey sandy carpet, and are reflected back with scorching power.
Travels in Peru, on the Coast, in the Sierra, Across the Cordilleras and the Andes, into the Primeval Forests|J. J. von Tschudi
Hewn out of the solid rock, a smooth and glistening pavement refracted those noon-day beams like burnished metal.
Sarchedon|G. J. (George John) Whyte-Melville
Light from the picture is refracted within the eyes, forming an image on each retina.
The Science of Human Nature|William Henry Pyle
Meanwhile the first days after Deering's departure wore a soft, refracted light like the radiance lingering after sunset.
Tales Of Men And Ghosts|Edith Wharton
In the past, however, light refracted and unrefracted has been a constant stimulus to responsive actions.
Essays in Experimental Logic|John Dewey

British Dictionary definitions for refract

refract

/ (rɪˈfrækt) /

verb (tr)

to cause to undergo refraction

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

Derived forms of refract

refractable, adjective

Word Origin for refract

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

refract

Origin of refract

OTHER WORDS FROM refract

Words related to refract

How to use refract in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for refract

Derived forms of refract

Word Origin for refract