Phrase guide

total internal reflection

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A phenomenon where light, instead of passing into a medium of a lower refractive index and refracting away from the normal, is completely reflected by the boundary between the two media because it approaches at an angle greater than or equal to the critical angle.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: engineering, natural-sciences, optics, physical-sciences, physics

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

An instance of this phenomenon.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

1 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Polish: całkowite wewnętrzne odbicie — Translations