debunk
Americanverb (used with object)
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debunks,
present (3rd person singular)
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debunked,
past participle, past
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debunking
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
debunksimple
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debunkssimple
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have debunkedperfect
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has debunkedperfect
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am debunkingprogressive
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are debunkingprogressive
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is debunkingprogressive
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have been debunkingperfect progressive
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has been debunkingperfect progressive
Past
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debunkedsimple
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had debunkedperfect
-
was debunkingprogressive
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were debunkingprogressive
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had been debunkingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of debunk
Explanation
When you debunk something you show it to be false. Many magicians, including Houdini and Penn and Teller, have worked to debunk the idea that magic is anything other than a very clever illusion. To debunk something is to prove it wrong. The idea that music education is frivolous and should be the first item cut from the budget is something that music teachers work hard to debunk — in fact, they've done it by proving that students perform better in schools with strong music programs. The verb debunk was first used by an American writer, William Woodward, in 1923, to mean "take the bunk out of something." Bunk means "nonsense."
Vocabulary lists containing debunk
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "D"
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Vocabulary from the Third and Final Presidential Debate, October 19, 2016
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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.
See Examples For:
Civic experts are urging regular voters to help debunk misinformation about voting within their communities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
Engineers said they were able to debunk some "myths", including that bullets can ricochet off the curve in the ballistic plate.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
It’s important to debunk this genetic stuff as we now live in a genomic age in which science has been used to justify all sorts of atrocity.
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2026
Though easy to debunk, such theories persist as Artemis II comes decades after the previous lunar missions, events today's internet-savvy generation has little recollection of.
From Barron's ● Apr. 11, 2026
Yet when language scholars try to debunk the spurious rules, the dichotomizing mindset imagines that they are trying to abolish all standards of good writing.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
AFP's global network has produced more than 500 debunks of false information in multiple languages since the conflict began -- a rate never before seen in such a crisis.
From Barron's ● Apr. 2, 2026
“The film itself debunks any attempts to debunk it.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
Bennett debunks the idea that "major equals happy, minor equals sad", adding that "minor keys are more a shorthand for emotional depth".
From BBC ● May 10, 2025
The text of these articles often debunks the talking point by pointing out that Musk's numbers are made up, but most people don't read articles.
From Salon ● Feb. 24, 2025
Research debunks myths of homelessness and substance abuse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2023
By his own account, Piker is now preparing a defamation suit against Jennings and Salem Media, and possibly Fox News, which cited the same debunked compilation.
From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026
Over the years, Bullock and Randall debunked rumors about their engagement and marriage numerous times.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
Such a potential link has been debunked by years of research.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
His absence sparked further speculation about his health, but the government has continually debunked reports that the head of state has been in hospital.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
This “rule” was popular for half a century, until leading grammarians debunked it.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
An American former newspaper columnist took to his Substack page to attempt a debunking, which offered a coherent if implausible theory of why Europe isn’t all that bad and America isn’t all that great.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
Internet users are increasingly turning to chatbots to verify images in real time, but the tools often fail, raising questions about their visual debunking capabilities.
From Barron's ● Dec. 16, 2025
If a fact-checker rated a post as false, Meta notified the user and added a warning label with a link to an article debunking its claims.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 7, 2025
In the past he has spoken with Salon about everything from debunking UFO hoaxes to understanding Dyson spheres.
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2024
Its place in the canons of poetics and rhetoric, moreover, has largely survived the personal debunking of its author.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
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.
