Meaning & use

specular

adjective·Advanced

Last updated

Having the properties of a mirror; relating to direct, mirror-like reflection of light.

See it in a sentence

The lake's calm surface produced a near-perfect specular reflection of the mountains.

Computer graphics software calculates specular highlights to make objects look shiny.

A note on using this word

Specular is chiefly a technical term used in physics, optics, and computer graphics, contrasted with 'diffuse' reflection, which scatters light in many directions.

Words with a similar meaning

mirror-likereflective

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “specular”, then compare your use with the examples above.

Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.