confutation

[kon-fyoo-tey-shuh n]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR confutation ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

something that confutes.

Classical Oratory. the fourth section of a speech, given over to direct refutation.

Origin of confutation

1425–75; late Middle English confutacioun (< Middle French) < Latin confūtātiōn- (stem of confūtātiō), equivalent to confūtāt(us) silenced (past participle of confūtāre; see confute, -ate¹) + -iōn- -ion

Related formscon·fut·a·tive

[kuh n-fyoo-tuh-tiv] /kənˈfyu tə tɪv/, adjectiveun·con·fut·a·tive, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for confutation

reply, rejoinder, repartee, rebuttal, retort, disagreement, discrepancy, conflict, difference, inconsistency, dispute, defense, answer, counterclaim, countercharge, counterargument, return, comeback, wisecrack, response

Examples from the Web for confutation

Historical Examples of confutation

This is often said in our own country, and we need not say what we advance in its confutation.
Life and Work in Benares and Kumaon, 1839-1877
James Kennedy
Other examples in abundance, in confutation of his assumption, could no doubt be furnished.
The Woman Who Dared
Epes Sargent
But his confutation was the factual confutation of experience.
The Posthumous Works of Thomas De Quincey, Vol. 1 (2 vols)
Thomas De Quincey
The only confutation which the report received, was the conduct of Mr Rainscourt.
The King's Own
Captain Frederick Marryat
But there is yet another Reason, why I think it not to need a Confutation.
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society - Vol 1 - 1666
Various

Word Origin and History for confutation

mid-15c., from Latin confutationem (nominative confutatio), noun of action from past participle stem of confutare (see confute).