Refocuses

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To shift attention or concentration towards another target or goal while adjusting perspective in the process
2. To redirect focus and mental effort towards an alternative priority or concept to enhance clarity and understanding
3. Changes the point of concentration to a different matter or objective

Etymology: "Refocuses" is the third-person singular form of "refocus," so it is the same verb as "refocus," which is formed by adding the prefix "re-" ("again, back") to "focus." "Focus" entered English in the 1600s from the New Latin "focus," which the astronomer Johannes Kepler used in 1604 for the point where light rays converge. Latin "focus" meant "hearth" or "fireplace," so the image behind the word is a fire's central point of heat. The "re-" compound is a straightforward later formation. Its earliest use is generally dated to the 1800s in the context of optics and photography, where adjusting a lens to bring an image back into sharp focus was the natural sense. The extension to attention and thinking followed from that picture: a mind that has drifted is brought back to the point where things become clear again.

Synonyms: adjusts, realigns, reorients

Antonyms: distracts, misdirects