irrefutable
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of irrefutable
1610–20; < Late Latin irrefūtābilis. See ir- 2, refutable ( def. )
Explanation
Have you ever had to prove a point? If so, you probably needed to find evidence that could not be denied — that was absolutely true. That evidence would be considered irrefutable, impossible to disprove. The adjective irrefutable comes from the Latin verb refutāre, "repel or beat," with the added negative prefix in-. Some things are simply irrefutable. These are things based in logic (if a=b and b=c, then a=c), or in fact (George Washington was the first president of the United States). But some things that are irrefutable, while maybe not logical, are simply not arguable, as when someone responds to "Why not?" with "Because I don't want to"!
Vocabulary lists containing irrefutable
Stamped
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Catching Fire
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Siddhartha
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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.
Covid-19 stole some of that progress, but the advancements remain irrefutable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Sheinbaum responded to the indictments by requesting the US provide "irrefutable" evidence against Rocha Moya before potentially extraditing him.
From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026
It was, at last, irrefutable proof that Charli knows best.
From Salon ● Feb. 8, 2026
The pressing relevance of the artist’s work for our present fraught era is irrefutable — not least when the dizzying transformation from analog to digital culture is harnessed to productive ends.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2025
Reviewers praised the “cool, surgical, irrefutable analyses of two of the world’s leading cryptologists.”
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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.
