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reflect - 6 dictionary results

re⋅flect

  [ri-flekt]
Use reflect in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to cast back (light, heat, sound, etc.) from a surface: The mirror reflected the light onto the wall.
2. to give back or show an image of; mirror.
3. (of an act or its result) to serve to cast or bring (credit, discredit, etc.) on its performer.
4. to reproduce; show: followers reflecting the views of the leader.
5. to throw or cast back; cause to return or rebound: Her bitterness reflects gloom on all her family.
–verb (used without object)
6. to be turned or cast back, as light.
7. to cast back light, heat, etc.
8. to be reflected or mirrored.
9. to give back or show an image.
10. to think, ponder, or meditate: to reflect on one's virtues and faults.
11. to serve or tend to bring reproach or discredit by association: His crimes reflected on the whole community.
12. to serve to give a particular aspect or impression: The test reflects well on your abilities.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME reflecten < L reflectere to bend back, equiv. to re- re- + flectere to bend

Related forms:
re⋅flect⋅ed⋅ly, adverb
re⋅flect⋅ed⋅ness, noun
re⋅flect⋅i⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, noun
re⋅flect⋅i⋅ble, adjective
re⋅flect⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
4. manifest. 6. rebound. 10. ruminate, deliberate, muse, consider, cogitate, contemplate. See study 1 .
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To reflect
re·flect   (rĭ-flěkt')   
v.   re·flect·ed, re·flect·ing, re·flects

v.   tr.
  1. To throw or bend back (light, for example) from a surface. See Synonyms at echo.
  2. To give back or show an image of (an object); mirror.
  3. To make apparent; express or manifest: Her work reflects intelligence.
  4. To bring as a consequence: The victory reflects credit on the coach.
  5. Archaic To bend back.
v.   intr.
  1. To be bent or thrown back: Her voice reflected off the canyon walls.
  2. To give something back, as light or sound: a shiny surface that reflects well.
    1. To give evidence of the characteristics or qualities of someone or something: That student's performance reflects well on the whole school.
    2. To bring blame or discredit: Hasty preparation of the report will reflect on you.
    3. To think seriously. See Synonyms at think.
    4. To express carefully considered thoughts: In the essay, he reflects on his career.
    1. To think seriously. See Synonyms at think.
    2. To express carefully considered thoughts: In the essay, he reflects on his career.

[Middle English reflecten, from Old French reflecter, from Latin reflectere, to bend back : re-, re- + flectere, to bend.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Reflect

Re*flect"\ (r?*fl?kt"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Reflected; p. pr. & vb. n. Reflecting.] [L. reflectere, reflexum; pref. re- re- + flectere to bend or turn. See Flexible, and cf. Reflex, v.]

1. To bend back; to give a backwa?d turn to; to throw back; especially, to cause to return after striking upon any surface; as, a mirror reflects rays of light; polished metals reflect heat.

Let me mind the reader to reflect his eye on our quotations. --Fuller.

Bodies close together reflect their own color. --Dryden.

2. To give back an image or likeness of; to mirror.

Nature is the glass reflecting God, As by the sea reflected is the sun. --Young.

Reflect

Re*flect"\ v. i. 1. To throw back light, heat, or the like; to return rays or beams.

2. To be sent back; to rebound as from a surface; to revert; to return.

Whose virtues will, I hope, Reflect on Rome, as Titan's rays on earth. --Shak.

3. To throw or turn back the thoughts upon anything; to contemplate. Specifically: To attend earnestly to what passes within the mind; to attend to the facts or phenomena of consciousness; to use attention or earnest thought; to meditate; especially, to think in relation to moral truth or rules.

We can not be said to reflect upon any external object, except so far as that object has been previously perceived, and its image become part and parcel of our intellectual furniture. --Sir W. Hamilton.

All men are concious of the operations of their own minds, at all times, while they are awake, but there few who reflect upon them, or make them objects of thought. --Reid.

As I much reflected, much I mourned. --Prior.

4. To cast reproach; to cause censure or dishonor.

Errors of wives reflect on husbands still. --Dryden.

Neither do I reflect in the least upon the memory of his late majesty. --Swift.

Syn: To consider; think; cogitate; mediate; contemplate; ponder; muse; ruminate.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : reflect
Spanish: reflejar,
German: reflektieren,
Japanese: 反射する
More Translations »

Main Entry: re·flect
Pronunciation: ri-'flekt
Function: transitive verb
1 : to bend or fold back : impart a backward curve, bend, orfold to
2 : to push or lay aside (as tissue or an organ) during surgery in order to gain access to the part to be operated on reflected and laterclosed over the stump> reflect intransitive senses
: to throw back light or sound : return rays, beams, or waves
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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reflect re·flect (rĭ-flěkt')
v. re·flect·ed, re·flect·ing, re·flects

  1. To bend back.
  2. To throw or bend back light, heat, or sound from a surface.
  3. To think seriously.
  4. To send back a motor impulse in response to a sensory stimulus.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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