refute
- to prove to be false or erroneous, as an opinion or charge.
- to prove (a person) to be in error.
Origin of refute
Synonyms for refute
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comRelated Words for refute
repudiate, contradict, expose, counter, quash, oppose, disprove, squelch, rebut, invalidate, negate, cancel, debate, contend, top, crush, overthrow, convict, dispute, contraveneExamples from the Web for refute
Contemporary Examples of refute
And no one is better equipped to refute this false equivalence than Mack herself.
Szarkowski responded: “The claim is impossible to refute, and in fact not easy to understand.”
This would seem to refute the new report that the captain alone would have been able to disable all the systems.
But this is all ‘a work in progress’… [that] we are trying to confirm or refute.
Which is why we need the most up-to-date science—and for government entities to refute “abortion-inducing” misnomers.
Historical Examples of refute
Unconsciously his whole practice began to refute his theories.
Alice, or The Mysteries, CompleteEdward Bulwer-Lytton
Traditions these which I mean not either to confirm with arguments of my own or to refute.
Tacitus on GermanyTacitus
And his sense of truth did not permit him to try to refute her accusation.
A Spirit in PrisonRobert Hichens
I shall go back and refute that common scoffer, that caster of doubts.
The Burning SpearJohn Galsworthy
But how can I refute you, if, as you say, to tell a falsehood is impossible?
EuthydemusPlato
refute
- (tr) to prove (a statement, theory, charge, etc) of (a person) to be false or incorrect; disprove
- to deny (a claim, charge, allegation, etc)
Word Origin for refute
usage
Word Origin and History for refute
1510s, "refuse, reject," from Middle French réfuter (16c.) and directly from Latin refutare "drive back; rebut, disprove; repress, repel, resist, oppose," from re- "back" (see re-) + -futare "to beat," probably from PIE root *bhau- "to strike down" (see bat (n.1)).
Meaning "prove wrong" dates from 1540s. Since c.1964 linguists have frowned on the subtle shift in meaning towards "to deny," as it is used in connection with allegation. Related: Refuted; refuting.