debunk
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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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
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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.
Researchers found that when large language models, like ChatGPT or Claude, are instructed to debunk conspiracy theories, they often successfully change people’s minds.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 24, 2026
The flood of AI-fabricated visuals -- mixed with authentic imagery from the Middle East -- continues to grow faster than professional fact-checkers can debunk them.
From Barron's • Mar. 15, 2026
The authors debunk commonly held myths that cast senior citizens as inept, scam-prone users of the internet.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025
His memo was so thick with lies that it would take a week to debunk them all.
From Salon • Oct. 22, 2025
Thankfully the rest of the world assumed that the Irish were crazy, a theory that the Irish themselves did nothing to debunk.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
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.
