reflective

UK/ɹɪˈflɛktɪv/US/ɹɪˈflɛktɪv/

adjectiveB2+Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #9,992 of 15,258leans written

Reflective means thoughtful, or throwing light back. A reflective mood, a reflective jacket, reflective practice.

The two senses share the image of light bouncing: a reflective person turns things back over in the mind. In teaching and nursing, reflective practice is a required discipline of writing about what you did and what you would change.

Definitions of reflective

1adjectivereflectiveThoughtful, or throwing light back.B2+
“Cyclists should wear reflective jackets at night so that drivers can see them.”

reflective is a quality.

Where it comes from

Latin
reflectō — to reflect
Old French
reflect — to bend back, turn back
English
reflect
English, today
reflective

Built from

re- · Latin — again
flectō · Latin — to bend, to curve

From reflect + -ive. reflect comes from Old French reflect (“to bend back, turn back”), from Latin reflectō (“to reflect”), from re- (“again”) + flectō (“to bend, to curve”). Compare English reflex.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

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