What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Reflection vs Essay - What's the difference?

reflection | essay |

As nouns the difference between reflection and essay

is that reflection is the act of reflecting or the state of being reflected while essay is essay, usually on scientific, cultural or sociological subjects for publication in a newspaper or magazine.

reflection

English

Alternative forms

* reflexion

Noun

(en noun)
  • The act of reflecting or the state of being reflected.
  • The property of a propagated wave being thrown back from a surface (such as a mirror).
  • Something, such as an image, that is reflected.
  • (senseid) Careful thought or consideration.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1959, author=(Georgette Heyer), title=(The Unknown Ajax), chapter=1
  • , passage=But Richmond, his grandfather's darling, after one thoughtful glance cast under his lashes at that uncompromising countenance appeared to lose himself in his own reflections .}}
  • An implied criticism.
  • (label) The process or mechanism of determining the capabilities of an object at run-time.
  • Derived terms

    * reflectional * reflectionless * self-reflection

    See also

    * refraction * diffraction

    essay

    English

    (wikipedia essay)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A written composition of moderate length exploring a particular issue or subject.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-01
  • , author=Katie L. Burke , title=Ecological Dependency , volume=101, issue=1, page=64 , magazine= citation , passage=In his first book since the 2008 essay collection Natural Acts: A Sidelong View of Science and Nature , David Quammen looks at the natural world from yet another angle: the search for the next human pandemic, what epidemiologists call “the next big one.”}}
  • (obsolete) A test, experiment; an assay.
  • An attempt.
  • * 1988 , James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom , Oxford 2003, p. 455:
  • This was Lee's first essay in the kind of offensive-defensive strategy that was to become his hallmark.

    Derived terms

    * photo essay

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (dated) To try.
  • * 1900 , , The House Behind the Cedars , Chapter II,
  • He retraced his steps to the front gate, which he essayed to open.
  • To move forth, as into battle.
  • Anagrams

    *