refractile

[ri-frak-tl, -tahyl]

adjective

1. refractive.

Word History and Origins

Origin of refractile¹

First recorded in 1840–50; refract + -ile

Example Sentences

As they exist in the cells of Spongilla the corpuscles are minute oval bodies of a bright green colour and each containing a highly refractile colourless granule.

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After further contraction the outer layers of the mass become still more highly differentiated and form a distinct spore membrane, and the spore itself is now highly refractile.

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As the colony increases, the granular character becomes more marked, until it seems to be made up of highly refractile granules, like a mass of particles of glass.

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