seniorRuby

Deconstruct Module prepending vs refinement priorities in method resolution trees.

Updated May 17, 2026

Short answer

Refinements take precedence over prepended modules within their active lexical scope, overriding all other layers in the method lookup chain.

Deep explanation

When a method is invoked, Ruby resolves its implementation by prioritizing active Refinements first. If a refinement is active in the current file, it executes regardless of whether the target class has prepended modules or direct overrides. If no refinement matches, Ruby falls back to the standard lookup chain, checking prepended modules next, followed by the base class definition.

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