verb
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(tr) to prove (a statement, theory, charge, etc) of (a person) to be false or incorrect; disprove
-
to deny (a claim, charge, allegation, etc)
Usage
The use of refute to mean deny is thought by many people to be incorrect
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of refute
First recorded in 1505–15; from Latin refūtāre “to check, suppress, refute, rebut,” equivalent to re- re- + -fūtāre presumably, “to beat” (attested only with the prefixes con- and re-; cf. confute)
Explanation
The verb refute is to prove that something is wrong. When the kids you're babysitting swear they brushed their teeth, you can refute their claim by presenting the dry toothbrushes. Evidence and arguments are used to refute something. So are facts. For example, if children who eat chocolate before going to bed go straight to sleep, that refutes the idea that sugar keeps them up. Refute comes from the Latin refutare for "to check, suppress." A near synonym is confute, but save refute as an everyday word for proving something is false.
Vocabulary lists containing refute
The SAT: Language of the Test, List 3
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The ACT: The Language of the Test, List 2
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Grade 9, List 3
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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.
Refute A strong verb, meaning “to disprove, to demonstrate falsehood”.
From The Guardian • Jun. 5, 2017
Refute those contradicting, and those resisting bring to me.
From A Source Book for Ancient Church History by Ayer, Joseph Cullen
Refute the charges which have been brought against you, which overwhelm you, which induce me, the court, and everybody else, to consider you guilty.
From Within an Inch of His Life by Gaboriau, Émile
"Refute what?" said I. "Don't you see, boy, that we really are not in possession of any single fact,—we have not even an allegation?"
From The Dodd Family Abroad, Vol. I by Lever, Charles James
MONTANUS, Refute, then, this syllogismus, quem tibi propano.
From Comedies by Holberg : Jeppe of the Hill, The Political Tinker, Erasmus Montanus by Holberg, Ludvig, baron
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.
