rebuttal
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of rebuttal
Explanation
When two people debate, one of them makes an argument, and the other follows with a rebuttal, which, plainly put, is the "No, you're wrong, and this is why" argument. We often associate rebuttals with arguments made in the courtroom or public debates that occur around election time, but the word can really apply to any situation in which an argument is put forth and someone disagrees and explains why. Sports fans, for instance, like to argue about the likely winner of an upcoming game, and when you make a case for why your friend is wrong, you are offering a rebuttal of his argument.
Vocabulary lists containing rebuttal
Argumentative Writing
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Rhetoric
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The AP English Exam: Rhetorical and Literary Terms 1
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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.
Ousted BP chairman Albert Manifold issued a 769-word rebuttal, claiming he made his own coffee and rejected corporate perks.
From Barron's • May 28, 2026
One friend, Jeff told me, asked DeepSeek, China’s leading homegrown AI model, to write a rebuttal in the same style as the Journal piece.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026
She got more and more frustrated, to the point that when Bass was allowed time for a rebuttal, she dejectedly proclaimed, “I haven’t been offered that in a lot of this debate.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026
In the West Bengal election, fish has slipped from the plate into the centre of the campaign, recast as proof of cultural fidelity and a rebuttal to charges of intrusion.
From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026
Varney said this smiling, but he was driving in nails now, attacking deep and hard, sensing that the man in front of him could not even blink an eye in rebuttal.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
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.
