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tr.v. re·fract·ed, re·fract·ing, re·fracts 1. To deflect (light, for example) from a straight path by refraction. 2. To alter by viewing through a medium: "In the Quartet reality is refracted through a variety of eyes" (Elizabeth Kastor). 3. Medicine To determine the refraction of (an eye, for example). [Latin refringere, refrāct-, to break up : re-, re- + frangere, to break; see bhreg- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
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