refraction.

A change in a wave’s direction associated with a change in its speed between or within media.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• light refraction
• atmospheric refraction

On the page

Refraction made the submerged cable appear bent.

Atmospheric refraction displaced the star’s apparent position.

Usage notes

Primary category: sci-fi. Forms: Usually uncountable. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.