Academic Dictionary
Home / Thesaurus / Diffraction
Find the word that fits

Diffraction: alternatives and connections

Begin with the reviewed alternatives, then explore broader connections without treating every related word as an automatic substitute.

Try an example: important law show help change happy
26,102 words currently have published synonym-style alternatives
90,593 searchable synonym connections
350,924 published thesaurus relationships of every type
Start with the meaning

Diffraction

The deflection and decomposition of light in passing by the edges of opaque bodies or through narrow slits, causing the appearance of parallel bands or fringes of prismatic colors, as by the action of a grating of fine lines or bars.

View the full dictionary entry Compare this word with another →
43 useful connections shown 2 reviewed relationships and 41 broader connections.
Best place to begin

Reviewed alternatives and contrasts

These links were deliberately created. Use the interchangeability score and guidance to judge whether a word will work in your sentence.

Derivationally related 2

Diffract 74% connected

To break or separate into parts; to deflect, or decompose by deflection, a/ rays of light.

oewn 2023 15% interchangeable

Open English WordNet records a derivational relationship between these word forms.

Definition Compare both words
Diffract 74% connected

To break or separate into parts; to deflect, or decompose by deflection, a/ rays of light.

oewn 2023 15% interchangeable

Open English WordNet records a derivational relationship between these word forms.

Definition Compare both words
Explore further

Words from the same subject

These terms belong to the same specialist field or topic. They help you explore the subject, but they are not automatically synonyms.

X-ray diffraction noun · 84% connection

the scattering of X rays by the atoms of a crystal; the diffraction pattern shows structure of the crystal

Used in the same subject area: Physics, Optics, Waves acoustics.
Definition Compare
Amplitude noun · 78% connection

(physics) the maximum displacement of a periodic wave

Used in the same subject area: Physics, Waves acoustics.
Definition Compare
Color spectrum noun · 78% connection

the distribution of colors produced when light is dispersed by a prism

Used in the same subject area: Physics, Optics.
Definition Compare
DB noun · 78% connection

a logarithmic unit of sound intensity; 10 times the logarithm of the ratio of the sound intensity to some reference intensity

Used in the same subject area: Physics, Waves acoustics.
Definition Compare
Decibel noun · 78% connection

a logarithmic unit of sound intensity; 10 times the logarithm of the ratio of the sound intensity to some reference intensity

Used in the same subject area: Physics, Waves acoustics.
Definition Compare
Doppler effect noun · 78% connection

change in the apparent frequency of a wave as observer and source move toward or away from each other

Used in the same subject area: Physics, Waves acoustics.
Definition Compare
Doppler shift noun · 78% connection

change in the apparent frequency of a wave as observer and source move toward or away from each other

Used in the same subject area: Physics, Waves acoustics.
Definition Compare
Fundamental noun · 78% connection

the lowest tone of a harmonic series

Used in the same subject area: Physics, Waves acoustics.
Definition Compare
Refractive index noun · 78% connection

the ratio of the velocity of light in a vacuum to that in a medium

Used in the same subject area: Physics, Optics.
Definition Compare
Standing wave noun · 78% connection

a wave (as a sound wave in a chamber or an electromagnetic wave in a transmission line) in which the ratio of its instantaneous amplit…

Used in the same subject area: Physics, Waves acoustics.
Definition Compare
Stationary wave noun · 78% connection

a wave (as a sound wave in a chamber or an electromagnetic wave in a transmission line) in which the ratio of its instantaneous amplit…

Used in the same subject area: Physics, Waves acoustics.
Definition Compare
Visible spectrum noun · 78% connection

the distribution of colors produced when light is dispersed by a prism

Used in the same subject area: Physics, Optics.
Definition Compare
Explore further

Words connected by meaning

Their definitions overlap or refer to similar ideas. Use these to widen your search, then compare the exact meanings.

Arris noun · 78% connection

The sharp edge or salient angle formed by two surfaces meeting each other, whether plane or curved; -- applied particularly to the edg…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: deflection, decomposition, light, passing, edges.
Definition Compare
Bend noun · 78% connection

A turn or deflection from a straight line or from the proper direction or normal position; a curve; a crook; as, a slight bend of the…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: deflection, decomposition, light, passing, edges.
Definition Compare
Broach noun · 78% connection

A tool of steel, generally tapering, and of a polygonal form, with from four to eight cutting edges, for smoothing or enlarging holes…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: deflection, decomposition, light, passing, edges.
Definition Compare
Chap verb · 78% connection

To cause to open in slits or chinks; to split; to cause the skin of to crack or become rough.

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: deflection, decomposition, light, passing, edges.
Definition Compare
Circumferentor noun · 78% connection

A surveying instrument, for taking horizontal angles and bearings; a surveyor's compass. It consists of a compass whose needle plays o…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: deflection, decomposition, light, passing, edges.
Definition Compare
Collimate verb · 78% connection

To render parallel to a certain line or direction; to bring into the same line, as the axes of telescopes, etc.; to render parallel, a…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: deflection, decomposition, light, passing, edges.
Definition Compare
Deadbeat adjective · 78% connection

Making a beat without recoil; giving indications by a single beat or excursion; -- said of galvanometers and other instruments in whic…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: deflection, decomposition, light, passing, edges.
Definition Compare
Defile noun · 78% connection

Any narrow passage or gorge in which troops can march only in a file, or with a narrow front; a long, narrow pass between hills, rocks…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: deflection, decomposition, light, passing, edges.
Definition Compare
Deflective adjective · 78% connection

Causing deflection.

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: deflection, decomposition, light, passing, edges.
Definition Compare
Deflexion noun · 78% connection

See Deflection.

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: deflection, decomposition, light, passing, edges.
Definition Compare
Deflexure noun · 78% connection

A bending or turning aside; deflection.

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: deflection, decomposition, light, passing, edges.
Definition Compare
Dioptrics noun · 78% connection

The science of the refraction of light; that part of geometrical optics which treats of the laws of the refraction of light in passing…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: deflection, decomposition, light, passing, edges.
Definition Compare
Enamel noun · 78% connection

a colored glassy compound (opaque or partially opaque) that is fused to the surface of metal or glass or pottery for decoration or pro…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: deflection, decomposition, light, passing, edges.
Definition Compare
Fluorescence noun · 78% connection

That property which some transparent bodies have of producing at their surface, or within their substance, light different in color fr…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: deflection, decomposition, light, passing, edges.
Definition Compare
Galvanometer noun · 78% connection

An instrument or apparatus for measuring the intensity of an electric current, usually by the deflection of a magnetic needle.

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: deflection, decomposition, light, passing, edges.
Definition Compare
Halation noun · 78% connection

An appearance as of a halo of light, surrounding the edges of dark objects in a photographic picture.

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: deflection, decomposition, light, passing, edges.
Definition Compare
Libration point noun · 78% connection

any one of five points in the plane of a system of two large astronomical bodies orbiting each other, as the Earth-moon system, where…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: deflection, decomposition, light, passing, edges.
Definition Compare
Mill noun · 78% connection

To make a raised border around the edges of, or to cut fine grooves or indentations across the edges of, as of a coin, or a screw head…

Its definition shares important concepts with this word: deflection, decomposition, light, passing, edges.
Definition Compare
All dictionary tools

Explore Academic Dictionary

The same nine destinations available from the header menu are shown here as a clear, fully visible grid.

Dictionary Definitions and meanings Thesaurus Synonyms with nuance Academic writing Evidence and analysis Professional Workplace vocabulary Word origins Etymology and roots Subjects Specialist dictionaries Word clusters Connected vocabulary Word similarity Compare two words Crossword Play with vocabulary