refute

re·fute

verb \ri-ˈfyüt\

re·fut·edre·fut·ing

Definition of REFUTE

transitive verb

1

: to prove wrong by argument or evidence : show to be false or erroneous

2

: to deny the truth or accuracy of <refuted the allegations>

— re·fut·able \-ˈfyü-tə-bəl\ adjective

— re·fut·ably \-blē\ adverb

— re·fut·er noun

Examples of REFUTE

1. The lawyer refuted the testimony of the witness.
2. He refutes the notion that he's planning to retire soon.
3. She refuted the allegations against her.
4. But for every study that shows acid rain is damaging frogs, another one refutes it. —Emily Yoffe, New York Times Magazine, 13 Dec. 1992
5. And it violates the basic tenet of historical method: that the historian be alert to the negative instances that would refute his thesis and to alternative explanations that would be more plausible than his own. —Gertrude Himmelfarb, The New History and the Old, 1987
6. It is not necessary to refute such an argument point by point … —Denis Goulet, Center Magazine, May 1969
7. We refute these aspersions whether they come from our best friends or our worst foes. —Sir Winston Churchill, address in House of Commons, 18 Jan. 1945, in Nathan Aus, ed., Voices of History 1945–46, 1946

Origin of REFUTE

Latin refutare to check, suppress, refute

First Known Use: 1545

Related to REFUTE

Synonyms: contradict, disaffirm, disallow, disavow, disclaim, disconfirm, disown, gainsay, negate, negative, deny, reject, repudiate

Antonyms: acknowledge, admit, allow, avow, concede, confirm, own

Related Words: traverse; challenge, confute, disprove, rebut; disagree (with), dispute

Near Antonyms: accept, adopt, embrace, espouse; affirm, announce, assert, aver, claim, declare, maintain, profess, submit; authenticate, corroborate, substantiate, validate, verify

see all synonyms and antonyms

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Other Logic Terms

a posteriori, connotation, corollary, inference, mutually exclusive, paradox, postulate, syllogism

Rhymes with REFUTE

acute, astute, Asyût, bear fruit, beetroot, Beirut, birthroot, bloodroot, breadfruit, butut, cahoot, Canute, catsuit, cheroot, choucroute, clubroot, commute, compute, confute, crapshoot, cube root, deaf-mute, depute, dilute, dispute, dry suit, elute, en route, enroot, flight suit, folkmoot, freeboot, galoot, grapefruit, G suit, hardboot, hip boot, hirsute, imbrute, impute, jackboot, jackfruit, jumpsuit, kashruth, lawsuit, long suit, lounge suit, minute, nonsuit, offshoot, outshoot, Paiute, pantsuit, permute, playsuit, pollute, pursuit, recruit, repute, salute, sans doute, seaboot, snowsuit, solute, square root, star fruit, star route, statute, strong suit, sunsuit, sweat suit, swimsuit, take root, taproot, to boot, tracksuit, trade route, transmute, tribute, uproot, volute, wet suit, zoot suit