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Glite Dictionary
specularly

specularly

9.1
Light reflects in one direction from a smooth surface like a mirror
  • adverb
  • /ˈspɛkjʊlərli/
  • Specialized
: especularmente
  • The sunlight reflected specularly off the calm lake, creating a beautiful shimmering effect.

Examples

  • The mirror polished to a high shine reflects images specularly, making it perfect for decorative use.

  • When the artist painted the water, she captured how the colors specularly bounced off the surface of the water.

  • Shining X-rays onto a surface at close to the critical angle of total reflection and detecting the specularly reflected intensity yields a wealth of information.

    Academic text (1995)

Synonyms

glossily
vsspecularly
1 5.0

In a smooth, shiny way that looks bright

reflects light like a mirror with clear directional reflection

Antonyms

diffusely
1 7.5

In a way that spreads out over a wide area rather than staying in one place

How Reflective

specularly
  • Specialized
9.1
glossily
1 5.0
dully
1 4.1

Surface Forms

specularly positive

Morphology

specularly = specular (transparent) = specular + ly

Formed by the adjective 'specular' plus the productive adverbial suffix '-ly', so the meaning 'in a mirror-like reflective way' is directly derived.

Etymology

Specularly comes from the old Latin root spec- which means 'to look' and is the same root you see in spectator ('a watcher'). It means 'mirror-like', so light or an image is sent back in one clear direction, just like from a smooth mirror surface.