Refract

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Refract \Re*fract"\ (r?*fr$kt"), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
     {Refracted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Refracting}.] [L. refractus, p.
     p. of refringere; pref. re- re- + frangere to break: cf. F.
     r['e]fracter. SEe {FRacture}, and cf. {Refrain}, n.]
     1. To bend sharply and abruptly back; to break off.
        [1913 Webster]


  
     2. To break the natural course of, as rays of light orr heat,
        when passing from one transparent medium to another of
        different density; to cause to deviate from a direct
        course by an action distinct from reflection; as, a dense
        medium refrcts the rays of light as they pass into it from
        a rare medium.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  refract
       v 1: subject to refraction; "refract a light beam"
       2: determine the refracting power of (a lens)

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  21 Moby Thesaurus words for "refract":
     bend, bias, crook, curve, deflect, deviate, diffract, diffuse,
     disperse, distort, diverge, divert, dogleg, hairpin, pull, scatter,
     skew, turn, twist, warp, zigzag