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disprove

[dis-proov]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR disprove ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), dis·proved, dis·prov·ing.

to prove (an assertion, claim, etc.) to be false or wrong; refute; invalidate: I disproved his claim.

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RELATED WORDS

invalidate, impugn, refute, contradict, belie, confound, discredit, negate, rebut, shoot, break, deny, contravene, expose, traverse, negative, explode, controvert, confute, puncture

Origin of disprove

1350–1400; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French desprover, equivalent to des- dis-1 + prover to prove
Related formsdis·prov·a·ble, adjectivedis·prov·er, nounun·dis·prov·a·ble, adjectiveun·dis·proved, adjective
Can be confuseddeny disapprove disprove rebut refute

Synonyms for disprove

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR disprove ON THESAURUS.COM
discredit, contradict, negate, confute.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for disproved

Contemporary Examples of disproved

Historical Examples of disproved

  • At all events, this was a phenomenon which could not be disproved, and there were many who believed it true.

    Murder Point

    Coningsby Dawson

  • We have—you have disproved the love I was so presumptuous as to believe you fostered for me.

  • His statements, therefore, may easily be disproved, if they are untrue.

  • That has always been disclaimed on our side and could easily be disproved on yours.

    Tristram of Blent

    Anthony Hope

  • There is never a point of time at which you can say, 'The tradition is now disproved.'

    Loss and Gain

    John Henry Newman

British Dictionary definitions for disproved

disprove

verb

(tr) to show (an assertion, claim, etc) to be incorrect
Derived Formsdisprovable, adjectivedisproval, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for disproved

disprove

v.

late 14c., from Old French desprover "refute, contradict," from des- (see dis-) + prover (see prove). Related: Disproved; disproving.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper