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)

Derived Forms

• reˈfractable, adjective

Other Word Forms

• re·fracta·ble adjective
• re·fracted·ly adverb
• re·fracted·ness noun
• nonre·fracting adjective
• unre·fracted adjective
• unre·fracting 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

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

Still, there’s also something kind of profound in contemplating 2000, even if it is refracted through this movie’s silly lens.

From Los Angeles Times

The same physics that makes light refract into patterns on the bottom of a swimming pool or causes stars to twinkle in the night sky also causes DISS.

From Science Daily

The director, who used the film as a way to refract a personal experience with grief, saw Bill as a man who was slowly beginning to erupt emotionally.

From Los Angeles Times

Democritus believed that light refracting through atoms caused the phenomenon that we perceive and describe conventionally, or by mutual agreement, as color.

From Salon