refract

verb

re·​fract ri-ˈfrakt 

refracted; refracting; refracts

transitive verb

1

a

: to subject (something, such as a ray of light) to refraction

Between them, Kirchhoff and Bunsen developed the spectroscope, which uses a prism to refract light.

—Paul Strathern

b

: to alter or distort as if by refraction

"Nope" is his twist on the alien-invasion film as refracted through the prism of [filmmaker] David Lynch.

—Cary Darling

Too often Indian food, and later Chinese—then the two most favored and accepted of foreign cuisines—became refracted through the prism of British food.

—Nigella Lawson

2

: to determine the refracting power of

refract a lens

intransitive verb

: to be subjected to refraction

The head of the figure is often surrounded by rings of coloured light caused by light diffraction. Like with a rainbow, this is caused by light refracting through tiny droplets of water in the air.

—Olivia Jones

Examples of refract in a Sentence

Light is refracted when it hits water.

Recent Examples on the Web

Also, if a background with bold colors is behind the glass, the light refracts off the glass menu button in a different shade. —Ben Sin, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025

His best works are typically defined by their psychological depth and genre ambition, and his plots — whether set on a spaceship staring at the sun or inside a rapidly evolving ecological anomaly — refract the internal tensions of their protagonists into visual spectacle. —Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2025

The few recognizable features of a human face—blue eyes, nostrils, those same red lips—appear refracted through a vase of flowers. —Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 June 2025

Now their weird discomfort with disease—and their outré views on cancer in particular—is being refracted through a sea of false, indecent speculations. —Benjamin Mazer, The Atlantic, 19 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin refractus, past participle of refringere to break open, break up, from re- + frangere to break — more at break

First Known Use

1563, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for refract

• abstract
• attacked
• attract
• contact
• contract
• detract
• distract
• enact
• exact
• extract
• hijacked
• impact

Kids Definition

refract

verb

re·​fract ri-ˈfrakt 

: to cause to go through refraction

Medical Definition

refract

transitive verb

re·​fract ri-ˈfrakt 

1

: to subject (as a ray of light) to refraction

2

: to determine the refracting power of or abnormality of refraction in (as an eye or a lens)