الطلاء المضاد للانعكاس على العدسة.

It is most naturally understood as a noun phrase, not a full sentence.

Literally, it is something like:

• الطلاء = the coating
• المضاد للانعكاس = anti-reflective / resistant to reflection
• على العدسة = on the lens

So the whole thing works well as a label, caption, or technical phrase: the anti-reflective coating on the lens.

Arabic often uses short noun phrases like this where English might also use a label rather than a full sentence.

A useful way to break it down is:

• الطلاء — the main noun: the coating
• المضاد — an adjective modifying الطلاء
• للانعكاس — a prepositional complement attached to المضاد
• على العدسة — another prepositional phrase: on the lens

So the structure is basically:

[noun] + [adjective + its complement] + [prepositional phrase]

In smoother English, المضاد للانعكاس functions together like anti-reflective.

Because in Arabic, an adjective normally agrees with the noun it describes in definiteness.

Here:

• الطلاء = the coating → definite
• so the adjective must also be definite:
• المضاد = the anti-/opposing

That is why Arabic says:

• الطلاء المضاد...

and not normally:

• الطلاء مضاد...

The second version would sound more like starting a sentence such as The coating is anti-reflective, rather than a tight noun phrase.

Because it is made from:

• لِـ = for / to / against depending on context
• الانعكاس = the reflection

When لِـ joins الـ, they combine in writing as:

• لِ + الانعكاس → للانعكاس

This is pronounced roughly lil-inʿikās.

So المضاد للانعكاس literally means something like the one that counteracts reflection.

No. It is not an iḍāfa.

An iḍāfa is a noun-to-noun construction like:

• طلاء العدسة = the coating of the lens / the lens coating

But للانعكاس is a prepositional phrase, because it begins with the preposition لِـ.

So:

• طلاء العدسة = iḍāfa
• مضاد للانعكاس = adjective + prepositional phrase

That distinction is very important for learners.

Because it agrees with الطلاء.

The noun طلاء is:

• singular
• masculine

So the adjective must match it:

• الطلاء المضاد

If the noun were feminine, plural, etc., the adjective would change accordingly.

Because Arabic often expresses an English one-word adjective with a descriptive phrase.

English:

• anti-reflective coating

Arabic:

• طلاء مضاد للانعكاس

So instead of one compact adjective, Arabic uses:

• مضاد = anti-/countering
• للانعكاس = reflection

This is very normal in Modern Standard Arabic, especially in technical language.

Because على العدسة emphasizes location: the coating is on the lens.

Compare:

• طلاء العدسة = the lens’s coating / the coating of the lens
• الطلاء ... على العدسة = the coating ... on the lens

Both can make sense, but they are not identical.

The given phrase focuses on the coating as something physically applied on the lens.

A careful pronunciation would be approximately:

aṭ-ṭilāʾ al-muḍādd lil-inʿikās ʿalā al-ʿadasa

A few pronunciation notes:

• الطلاء begins with ط, which is a sun letter, so ال is assimilated in pronunciation:
  • written: الطلاء
  • pronounced: aṭ-ṭilāʾ
• المضاد is pronounced al-muḍādd in careful speech
• للانعكاس is pronounced lil-inʿikās
• العدسة keeps the l sound of ال because ع is a moon letter:
  • al-ʿadasa

One possible fully vocalized form is:

الطِّلاءُ المُضادُّ لِلِانْعِكاسِ عَلَى العَدَسَةِ

A few notes:

• In everyday print, these short vowels are usually omitted.
• The exact ending on الطلاء and المضاد depends on the larger sentence.
• If this is just a standalone label, people often do not pronounce full case endings.

So in real life, you will most often see:

الطلاء المضاد للانعكاس على العدسة

without vowel marks.

Sometimes Arabic allows different word orders, but this version is clear and natural:

الطلاء المضاد للانعكاس على العدسة

It first names the object:

• the coating

then describes it:

• anti-reflective

then adds location:

• on the lens

That order is very typical for technical descriptions. If you move parts around, the phrase may become less clear or slightly awkward.