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# refract

verb (refract, refracts, refracted, refracting); noun refraction

«refract» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (science) To refract light is to bend it as it passes from one material into another, such as from air into water or glass. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/refract/#m1)
2. Sound and other waves can also refract when they change speed. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/refract/#m2)

### In the lessons

In science lessons on light, refraction explains why a straw looks bent in a glass of water, why a swimming pool looks shallower than it is, how lenses in glasses and magnifying glasses work, and how a prism or raindrops refract and split white light into a rainbow. Safety: pools are deeper than they look because of refraction.

### Examples

- Water refracts light, so the straw looks bent. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/refract/#x1)
- A prism refracts white light into a rainbow of colours. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/refract/#x2)
- Glasses lenses refract light to help people see clearly. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/refract/#x3)
- Raindrops refract and reflect sunlight to make rainbows. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/refract/#x4)
- The pool looks shallow because water refracts the light. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/refract/#x5)
- Light refracts when it goes from air into glass. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/refract/#x6)
- Draw how the light ray refracts at the surface. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/refract/#x7)

### Note

Do not confuse refract (bend light passing through) with reflect (bounce light back, as a mirror does). Noun: refraction. The light changes direction because it changes speed.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «refract» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/refract/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«refract» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/refract.html) on Mova free.