REFRACT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does refract mean? 

• REFRACT (verb)
  The verb REFRACT has 2 senses:

1. subject to refraction

2. determine the refracting power of (a lens)

  Familiarity information: REFRACT used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• REFRACT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they refract    ... he / she / it refracts   
Past simple: refracted   
Past participle: refracted   
-ing form: refracting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Subject to refraction

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Context example:

refract a light beam

Hypernyms (to "refract" is one way to...):

subject (cause to experience or suffer or make liable or vulnerable to)

Domain category:

optics (the branch of physics that studies the physical properties of light)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

refraction (the change in direction of a propagating wave (light or sound) when passing from one medium to another)

refractive (capable of changing the direction (of a light or sound wave))

refractive (of or relating to or capable of refraction)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Determine the refracting power of (a lens)

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "refract" is one way to...):

ascertain; determine; find; find out (establish after a calculation, investigation, experiment, survey, or study)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

refractive (capable of changing the direction (of a light or sound wave))

refractive (of or relating to or capable of refraction)

 Context examples 

It serves as the first refracting medium of the eye.

(Murine Cornea, NCI Thesaurus)