refléter

Refléter is a French verb meaning to reflect or to mirror. It covers physical reflection, such as light or an image bouncing off a surface, and figurative use, such as showing or expressing a quality, situation, or feeling. It can describe how something is conveyed or perceived as well as how it represents reality.

Etymology: refléter comes from Latin reflectere, meaning to bend back, formed from re- “back” and flectere “to bend,” and it reached French through Old French. The related noun reflet (or reflet) denotes the image produced by reflection.

Conjugation and usage: refléter is a regular -er verb. Present tense forms are: je reflète, tu reflètes, il reflète, nous reflétons, vous reflétez, ils reflètent. Other common forms include: imparfait reflétait, passé composé avoir reflété, futur simple refléterai, conditionnel refléterais, and subjunctive qu’il reflète. The verb is transitive: on reflète une image ou une réalité (we reflect an image or a reality). Pronominal use exists: se refléter dans, se refléter à travers, meaning to be reflected in or through.

Examples:

- La lumière se reflète dans le miroir. (The light reflects in the mirror.)

- Ce livre reflète les préoccupations de l’époque. (This book reflects the concerns of the era.)

- Le budget reflète les priorités du gouvernement.

Related terms: le reflet (the reflection), refléter as opposed to réfléchir, which means to think about or consider in depth. Refléter can be contrasted with miroiter, which means to glisten or glitter, and with représenter, meaning to represent.