debunk

[dih-buhngk]

verb (used with object)

1. to expose or excoriate (a claim, assertion, sentiment, etc.) as being pretentious, false, or exaggerated.

   to debunk advertising slogans.

   Synonyms: lampoon, ridicule, disparage

debunk

/ diːˈbʌŋk /

verb

1. informal,  (tr) to expose the pretensions or falseness of, esp by ridicule

Other Word Forms

• debunker noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of debunk¹

An Americanism dating back to 1920–25; de- + bunk ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of debunk¹

C20: from _de- + _bunk ²

Example Sentences

She compared photographs of women diagnosed with hysteria, a condition later debunked, with those taken by spiritists who were trying to make photographs of dead people appearing behind grieving relatives.

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Speaking on BBC Radio 2's Breakfast Show with Scott Mills, the star debunked rumours that it would be her last album.

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Goodall persisted in talking about the attacks, maintaining that her purpose was not to support or debunk theories about human aggression but to “understand a little better” the nature of chimpanzee aggression.

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In the past, Kennedy has offered debunked theories about the rising rates of autism, blaming vaccines despite a lack of evidence.

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A spokesperson accused the three experts on the commission of serving as "Hamas proxies" and relying "entirely on Hamas falsehoods, laundered and repeated by others" that had "already been thoroughly debunked".

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Related Words

• demystify 
• disparage 
• mock 
• puncture