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
This argument, too, has been there since the outset, when there was no data yet to refute it.
—Diana Gitig, ArsTechnica, 30 May 2026
As refuted at the time by my campaign manager and chief of staff, the accusations made simply aren’t true.
—Rafael Perez, Daily News, 28 May 2026
House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries refuted the president's claims.
—Christina Fan, CBS News, 28 May 2026
Developers refuted many of the claims, but building sales experienced a downturn.
—Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 27 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for refute
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Diana Gitig, ArsTechnica, 30 May 2026
As refuted at the time by my campaign manager and chief of staff, the accusations made simply aren’t true.
—Rafael Perez, Daily News, 28 May 2026
House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries refuted the president's claims.
—Christina Fan, CBS News, 28 May 2026
Developers refuted many of the claims, but building sales experienced a downturn.
—Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 27 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for refute
Cite this Entry
“Refute.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/refute. Accessed 3 Jun. 2026.
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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