Link Centre Dictionary

reflect

ref·lect

UK/ɹɪˈflɛkt/ US/rɪˈflɛkt/ fairly common

verb

1.

manifest or bring back

  • “This action reflects his true beliefs”
2.

to throw or bend back or reflect (from a surface)

  • “A mirror in the sun can reflect light into a person”
  • “;”
Synonyms
3.

reflect deeply on a subject

  • “I mulled over the events of the afternoon”
  • “philosophers have speculated on the question of God for thousands of years”
  • “The scientist must stop to observe and start to excogitate”
Synonyms
4.

be bright by reflecting or casting light

  • “Drive carefully--the wet road reflects”
Synonyms
5.

give evidence of a certain behavior

  • “His lack of interest in the project reflects badly on him”
6.

give evidence of the quality of

  • “The mess in his dorm room reflects on the student”

Origin

From Old French reflecter (“to bend back, turn back”), from Latin reflectō (“to reflect”), from re- (“again”) + flectō (“to bend, to curve”). Compare English reflex.

Phrases

  • reflect on
  • reflect upon
  • reflecting microscope

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Related verbs

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.