: the reflective quality or power of a surface or material
… conducting "reflectivity tests" to see whether Saudi sand when viewed through the goggles creates a sparkling effect that disorients pilots and causes them to send their helicopters careening to the ground.Newsweek
… there are many examples of luster-decorated ceramics, in which Islamic potters emulated the reflectivity of metalwork by applying metal oxides to white-glazed vessels …Roberta Smith
The warming at the surface could be expected to melt snow and ice, reducing the earth's albedo, or reflectivity.Roger Revelle

Examples of reflectivity in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Changing the temperature changes lots about the Earth, from the reflectivity of sea ice to the stability of permafrost. Joseph Howlett, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025 The Arctic is warming around four times faster than the rest of the planet in large part because its reflectivity is changing. Matt Simon, Wired News, 30 Aug. 2025 Based on the size and reflectivity of Earth, a coronagraph would need to achieve brightness contrasts of between 10-10 and 10-12 (between 1 part in 10 billion and 1 part in a trillion) to image an Earth-sized world at Earth-like distances around a Sun-like star. Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 5 Aug. 2025 According to Michigan law, Michigan does not have a specification for the darkness of the window application, but prohibits applications with a solar reflectivity greater than 35%. Jalen Williams, Freep.com, 31 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for reflectivity

Word History

First Known Use

1879, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of reflectivity was in 1879

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Cite this Entry

“Reflectivity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reflectivity. Accessed 4 Oct. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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