reflect
verb
Simple meaning
To think carefully about something, or to show an image back like a mirror.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ruhflehktSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɹəfˈlɛkt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Give evidence of a certain behavior
“His lack of interest in the project reflects badly on him.”
Give evidence of the quality of
“The mess in his dorm room reflects on the student.”
transitive
To give evidence of someone's or something's character etc.
transitive
To mirror, or show the image of something.
To throw or bend back (from a surface)
“Sound is reflected well in this auditorium.”
intransitive
To be bent back (light, etc.) from a surface.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Give evidence of a certain behavior
Used this way, reflect is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“His lack of interest in the project reflects badly on him.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Giveverb
“His lack of interest in the project reflects badly on him.”
Throw / bentverb
“Sound is reflected well in this auditorium.”
More ways to use reflect
- “His lack of interest in the project reflects badly on him.”verb
- “The mess in his dorm room reflects on the student.”verb
- “Sound is reflected well in this auditorium.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Bent or sent back.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Device that reflects radiation.
The fraction of radiant energy that is reflected from a surface.
Capable of physically reflecting light or sound.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Optical telescope consisting of a large concave mirror that produces an image that is magnified by the eyepiece.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
The fraction of radiant energy that is reflected from a surface.
The fraction of radiant energy that is reflected from a surface.
The ratio of reflected to incident light.
The angle between a reflected ray and a line perpendicular to the reflecting surface at the point of incidence.
The fraction of radiant energy that is reflected from a surface.
Reflecting telescope in which the image is viewed through an eyepiece perpendicular to main axis.
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.