reflection
re·flec·tion/ɹɪˈflɛkʃən/noun
reflection is spelled R-E-F-L-E-C-T-I-O-N: 10 letters and 3 syllables (re·flec·tion). It appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,407th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, reflection means “The act of reflecting or the state of being reflected” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of reflection is reflections.
How many letters and syllables are in reflection?
| Letters | 10: R-E-F-L-E-C-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: re·flec·tion |
| In writing | 15 times per million words; the 5,407th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is reflection?
Reflection appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,407th 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 reflection?
- /ɹɪˈflɛkʃən/
Reflection has 3 syllables, split re·flec·tion in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-reflection.wav, En-us-reflection.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of reflection
- reflections plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does reflection mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The act of reflecting or the state of being reflected.
- 2
The property of a propagated wave being thrown back from a surface (such as a mirror).
- 3
Something, such as an image, that is reflected.
The dog barked at his own reflection in the mirror.
- 4
Careful thought or consideration.
After careful reflection, I have decided not to vote for that proposition.
- 5
A representative manifestation or outcome of a condition, trend or trait.
Our recent results are a reflection of the progress we've made as a team.
- 6
Used to make an implied criticism.
It is a reflection on his character that he never came back to see them.
- 7
The process or mechanism of determining the capabilities of an object at run-time.
- 8
The folding of a part; a fold.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Reflection in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | réflexion , reflet |
| German | Reflexion, Abbild, Reflektion, Widerspiegelung |
| Portuguese | reflexão , reflexo |
| Spanish | reflexión , reflejo |
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 reflection come from?
From Middle English refleccion, refleccioun, refleccioune, reflection, from Middle French reflection, reflexion, and its source Late Latin reflexiō, from the participle stem of reflectō. The current spelling is influenced by reflect. Equivalent to reflect + -ion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).