irrefutable
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of irrefutable
1610–20; < Late Latin irrefūtābilis. See ir- 2, refutable ( def. )
Explanation
Have you ever had to prove a point? If so, you probably needed to find evidence that could not be denied — that was absolutely true. That evidence would be considered irrefutable, impossible to disprove. The adjective irrefutable comes from the Latin verb refutāre, "repel or beat," with the added negative prefix in-. Some things are simply irrefutable. These are things based in logic (if a=b and b=c, then a=c), or in fact (George Washington was the first president of the United States). But some things that are irrefutable, while maybe not logical, are simply not arguable, as when someone responds to "Why not?" with "Because I don't want to"!
Vocabulary lists containing irrefutable
Stamped
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Catching Fire
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Siddhartha
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Irrefutable signs of reworking are especially present on the colossal statue’s face, according to Claudio Parisi Presicce, Rome’s top municipal art official, the director of the Capitoline Museums and an expert on the colossus.
From New York Times • Feb. 7, 2024
Irrefutable proof is harder to come by in biology than in a field like math or physics, Andersen cautioned.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 26, 2022
Sims had initially hoped to write a self-help book for entrepreneurs along the lines of “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership,” by the pastor and motivational speaker John Maxwell.
From New York Times • Mar. 26, 2019
Irrefutable though the facts may be, they are powerless when it comes to helping Woods climb back on to the pedestal.
From The Guardian • May 8, 2010
Irrefutable evidence on the subject can be found in the official report of the Senate Committee of Inquiry into the activities of German propaganda, which has already been mentioned more than once.
From My Three Years in America by Bernstorff, Johann Heinrich Andreas Hermann Albrecht Graf von
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
