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
San Francisco Giants Ryan Walker was named the closer by Bob Melvin, which carries weight in considering roles going forward since there has been no comment refuting his role.
—Greg Jewett, New York Times, 1 May 2025
Unsurprisingly, Postecoglou refutes any suggestion that his team doesn’t have the same faith.
—Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025
Health experts, members of the autism community and others have vocally refuted claims of a link between vaccines and autism.
—Deidre McPhillips, CNN Money, 23 Apr. 2025
To a great extent, they’re refuted by the CDC report itself, which Kennedy referred to repeatedly at his news conference.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for refute
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Greg Jewett, New York Times, 1 May 2025
Unsurprisingly, Postecoglou refutes any suggestion that his team doesn’t have the same faith.
—Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025
Health experts, members of the autism community and others have vocally refuted claims of a link between vaccines and autism.
—Deidre McPhillips, CNN Money, 23 Apr. 2025
To a great extent, they’re refuted by the CDC report itself, which Kennedy referred to repeatedly at his news conference.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 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 4 May. 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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