rebuttal

[ ri-buht-l ]
See synonyms for rebuttal on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an act of rebutting, as in a debate.

Origin of rebuttal

1
First recorded in 1820–30; rebut + -al2

Other words for rebuttal

Words Nearby rebuttal

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use rebuttal in a sentence

  • Certainly such an attitude would be a timely rebuttal of the anti-colonization sentiment of the Negro ministry in general.

  • Then the question that the man had asked in rebuttal to his own penetrated the manager's mind, and he became puzzled.

    Thin Edge | Gordon Randall Garrett
  • But it was against Mr. Colbrith's principles to let a man off with a single rebuttal.

    Empire Builders | Francis Lynde
  • In spite of her haughty rebuttal of the charge against her husband, she was wounded and oppressed by it.

    Brooke's Daughter | Adeline Sergeant
  • In debating, this repulse, this destruction of the arguments of the opposition, is called refutation or rebuttal.

    Elements of Debating | Leverett S. Lyon

Cultural definitions for rebuttal

rebuttal

A reply intended to show fault in an opponent's argument.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.