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
Paramount insiders refute that, noting that Ellison made many pro-deal arguments in a letter to WBD’s board that The New York Times obtained on Wednesday.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2025
In their letter Tuesday, Smith's attorneys sought to refute a narrative stemming from a document released by the FBI on the eve of Attorney General Pam Bondi's appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month.
—Alexander Mallin, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2025
Like Dunbar’s speakers, Hughes’s dispossessed have no way out, and the poem implicitly refutes optimism regarding the Great Migration and racial progress.
—Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025
While some studies point to a decrease in sperm count worldwide due to environmental and lifestyle factors, the scientific evidence to support or refute Kennedy's exact claims is murky.
—Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for refute
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Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2025
In their letter Tuesday, Smith's attorneys sought to refute a narrative stemming from a document released by the FBI on the eve of Attorney General Pam Bondi's appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month.
—Alexander Mallin, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2025
Like Dunbar’s speakers, Hughes’s dispossessed have no way out, and the poem implicitly refutes optimism regarding the Great Migration and racial progress.
—Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025
While some studies point to a decrease in sperm count worldwide due to environmental and lifestyle factors, the scientific evidence to support or refute Kennedy's exact claims is murky.
—Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 17 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 29 Oct. 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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