refuted; refuting
Examples of refute in a Sentence
But for every study that shows acid rain is damaging frogs, another one refutes it.
—
Emily Yoffe, New York Times Magazine, 13 Dec. 1992
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
It is not necessary to refute such an argument point by point …
—Denis Goulet, Center Magazine, May 1969
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
The lawyer refuted the testimony of the witness.
He refutes the notion that he's planning to retire soon.
She refuted the allegations against her.
Emily Yoffe, New York Times Magazine, 13 Dec. 1992
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
It is not necessary to refute such an argument point by point …
—Denis Goulet, Center Magazine, May 1969
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
The lawyer refuted the testimony of the witness.
He refutes the notion that he's planning to retire soon.
She refuted the allegations against her.
Recent Examples on the Web
To me, debate is about forming your own arguments and pushing yourself to refute curveball counters.
—Ashanty Rosario, The Atlantic, 3 Sep. 2025
Other organizations and scientists have refuted the DOE’s review, including the American Meteorological Society, which highlighted further flaws in the report and urged a correction of the findings by the agency.
—Connor Greene, Time, 2 Sep. 2025
Both Kraft and Goodell have refuted the claim.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 2 Sep. 2025
The Department of Homeland Security refuted Othmane's claims about conditions inside the ICE facility.
—Nick Mordowanec
billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for refute
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Ashanty Rosario, The Atlantic, 3 Sep. 2025
Other organizations and scientists have refuted the DOE’s review, including the American Meteorological Society, which highlighted further flaws in the report and urged a correction of the findings by the agency.
—Connor Greene, Time, 2 Sep. 2025
Both Kraft and Goodell have refuted the claim.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 2 Sep. 2025
The Department of Homeland Security refuted Othmane's claims about conditions inside the ICE facility.
—Nick Mordowanec
billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for refute
Cite this Entry
“Refute.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/refute. Accessed 8 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
refute
verb
re·fute
ri-ˈfyüt 
refuted; refuting
: to prove wrong by argument or evidence : show to be false
refute the testimony of a witness
refuter
noun
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