How to Use refractive in a Sentence

refractive

adjective

• This destroys the feather’s refractive structures, and the crimp reverts to the plain, grayish brown of any bird.
  — Dave Taft, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2017
• For a goddess-like aesthetic, trade shimmering pink for soft and refractive gold.
  — Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 12 Aug. 2025
• Her looks also lean chameleonic, both reflective and refractive.
  — Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 25 Oct. 2022
• Light always moves through a vacuum at the same speed, but it gets slowed down by a factor called the refractive index in a medium like water or glass.
  — Lisa Grossman, WIRED, 29 Sep. 2010
• Some children are progressing to high myopia, which is when a prescription or the refractive error is minus six diopters or more.
  — Sumathi Reddy, WSJ, 31 May 2021
• The condition is caused by a refractive error, meaning the eye’s focusing system doesn’t bring light to the correct spot.
  — Daryl Austin, USA Today, 17 Feb. 2026
• Once the light makes the electrons uncomfortable, the intensity of the light changes the refractive index.
  — Chris Lee, Ars Technica, 31 July 2017
• This could take the form of an aerial lens used to magnify objects far away, or even a kind of refractive shield to scatter incoming enemy laser beams.
  — Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 19 Jan. 2017
• There are other kinds of refractive errors that can mess with your vision, but the point is that corrective lenses like eyeglasses can help address them.
  — Patia Braithwaite, SELF, 20 Nov. 2019
• To our surprise, more time outdoors had a protective effect and reduced the chances that a child would go on to need myopic refractive correction in the future.
  — CNN, 3 Oct. 2017
• Nearly 80 percent of impaired vision is caused by cataracts or refractive disorders, which are treatable.
  — Science, 3 Dec. 2020
• People with persistent refractive error may need to wear glasses or contact lenses even after surgery, but this is less likely with the light-adjustable lens.
  — Dr. Keith Roach, oregonlive, 28 July 2022
• Known for their high refractive indices and high chromium content, the gems are top contenders for the title of world’s rarest emeralds, simply for the fact that the mines are largely tapped out.
  — Victoria Gomelsky, Robb Report, 7 Feb. 2022
• Its aim was to understand refractive errors in vision that cause blurring and spectacle usage among truckers and transporters.
  — Prachi Salve, Quartz India, 12 Feb. 2020
• This astounding range of colors is due to the refractive nanostructures in hummingbird feather barbules.
  — Grrlscientist, Forbes, 26 June 2022
• The fishing mantis came by only at night, though, and appeared to have little trouble adapting to the refractive shifting that occurs when light enters the water.
  — Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 20 Sep. 2018
• The only way to make lenses smaller and better is to replace refractive lenses with a different technology.
  — IEEE Spectrum, 21 May 2023
• Holographic films used to focus the image onto the eye also eliminate the need for the kinds of bulky refractive lensing systems found in current headsets.
  — Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 30 June 2020
• The second most common type is refractive amblyopia, which is when the eyes have a significant difference in prescription.
  — Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY, 24 Nov. 2021
• The ultra-thin eye piece is made possible by a holographic lens, which can be installed much closer to the display panel than a conventional refractive lens.
  — Fortune, 7 July 2020
• Its lenses aren’t made from traditional glass or plastic but rather a refractive material called silicon carbide.
  — Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 27 Sep. 2024
• French realized that refractive details look better in the spotlight—literally.
  — Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 29 Dec. 2023
• His color palettes, which can range from brilliant orange and blue to crepuscular pinks and purples, seem to evoke land, sky and light in its myriad reflective and refractive states.
  — Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2022
• These researchers found an older (over 500-million-years-old) trilobite eye a few years ago and noted a meager, non-calcite lens that left the refractive work to beefy cone cells.
  — Scott K. Johnson, Ars Technica, 15 Aug. 2020
• The new technique records two images simultaneously, one with a refractive lens, the other with a conical prism known as a refractive axicon.
  — IEEE Spectrum, 10 Oct. 2023
• These nanopillars can manipulate light waves with a degree of control not possible with traditional refractive lenses.
  — IEEE Spectrum, 21 May 2023
• Similarly, measures of refractive error were most severe in children consuming the least omega-3s.
  — Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Aug. 2025
• Both are refractive, cross-cultural, still-thriving artifacts of the 1960s and ’70s.
  — Los Angeles Times, 8 Feb. 2026
• Examples include strabismus, cataracts, refractive errors, and droopy eyelid.
  — Dagny Zhu, Verywell Health, 26 Jan. 2023
• Nail artist Mei Kawajiri dreamed up a refractive and frosty holiday mani for Hannah Bronfman, inspiring our next polish jobs in the process.
  — Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 17 Dec. 2023