Wordnet 3.0
VERB (2)
1.
subject to refraction;
- Example: "refract a light beam"2.
determine the refracting power of (a lens);
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
refract
v 1: subject to refraction; "refract a light beam"
2: determine the refracting power of (a lens)
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
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