Any bending of waves caused by a change in speed is referred to as refraction. The production of refraction occurs when water waves travel over a range of depths and heights.

When we state that light is refracted by a prism, we are referring to dispersion, which means that there will be a higher frequency of light bending.

The bending of light is referred to as refraction, while the frequency dependence of light properties is referred to as dispersion.