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
Together, these women find respite from, and at times refute, perennial patriarchal powers.
—JSTOR Daily, 30 Oct. 2025
Rosen refuted Palomares’ claim, saying the tugboat captain was reckless and should have been on the lookout for recreational boaters who frequent those waters.
—David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 30 Oct. 2025
And refutes this idea that dinosaurs were in decline before the asteroid struck.
—Ari Daniel, NPR, 30 Oct. 2025
Bovino appeared before Ellis on Tuesday after the plaintiffs accused him of throwing a tear gas canister into a crowd of demonstrators without justification or warning – a characterization DHS has refuted.
—Devan Cole, CNN Money, 29 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for refute
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JSTOR Daily, 30 Oct. 2025
Rosen refuted Palomares’ claim, saying the tugboat captain was reckless and should have been on the lookout for recreational boaters who frequent those waters.
—David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 30 Oct. 2025
And refutes this idea that dinosaurs were in decline before the asteroid struck.
—Ari Daniel, NPR, 30 Oct. 2025
Bovino appeared before Ellis on Tuesday after the plaintiffs accused him of throwing a tear gas canister into a crowd of demonstrators without justification or warning – a characterization DHS has refuted.
—Devan Cole, CNN Money, 29 Oct. 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 1 Nov. 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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