prism

4 definitions • 5 examples

a solid shape with flat sides and two ends that are the same shape :

Snow crystals come in a relatively small number of basic shapes, including prisms, columns, stars, cups, plates, bullets, and needles.

a transparent glass or plastic object that separates white light that passes through it into different colours:

Newton split white light into its spectrum of colours by beaming it through a prism.

This vision consists of luminous, bright, flickering colours of the spectrum, like a prism catching light.

something that affects the way you think about something :

It features four retired people who look back on their lives through the prism of their dancing.

Ideology isn't the ideal prism to evaluate the Obama presidency.

a transparent object, often glass, that separates white light into different colors