diffract
/dɪˈfɹækt/verb
diffract is spelled D-I-F-F-R-A-C-T: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 40 million words in written English, the 194,306th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, diffract means “To cause diffraction” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in diffract?
| Letters | 8: D-I-F-F-R-A-C-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 40 million words; the 194,306th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is diffract?
Diffract appears about once in every 40 million words in written English, the 194,306th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce diffract?
- /dɪˈfɹækt/
- /dəˈfɹækt/
Diffract has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-diffract.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of diffract
- diffracts present, singular, he/she/it
- diffracting participle, present
- diffracted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does diffract mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To cause diffraction
- 2
To undergo diffraction
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Diffract in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense transitive:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | diffracter |
| Spanish | difractar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does diffract come from?
From Latin diffractus (“past participle of diffringo (“to shatter, to break into pieces”)”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).