ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Refract

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Part of speech verb

Quick meaning: Refract is a verb meaning (transitive, figurative) To mediate; to alter; to distort.

Meaning

(transitive, figurative) To mediate; to alter; to distort.

More Meanings

  1. (transitive, optics) To cause (light) to change direction as a result of entering a different medium.
  2. (transitive, ophthalmology) To measure, and often also to correct with lenses, the refractive error of (an eye) or the eyes of (a person).
  3. (transitive, physics) Of a medium, substance, object, etc.: to deflect the course of (light rays), esp. when they enter the medium, etc., at an oblique angle; to cause refraction of (light, other electromagnetic radiation, or sound or other wave phenomena).

Example Sentences

A prism can refract light.

Word Forms

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include refringe, disperse, reflect, refractionate, diffract, deflect.

Related Dictionary Tools

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.