1
as in to deny
to declare not to be true
while he was publicly refuting rumors of a merger, behind the scenes the CEO was working to effect that very outcome
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to discredit
to prove to be false
the victories of African-American athlete Jesse Owens in the 1936 Olympics effectively refuted the racial views of the Nazis
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of refute
Barrett himself previously addressed the rumors surrounding his time off, refuting any suggestion that he had been removed from his position.
—
Andrew Ravens, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
Szymon Laks, conductor of one of several male orchestras at Auschwitz-Birkenau, vehemently refuted the notion that music was helpful to anyone in the camp.
—Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2025
Ghana’s officials refuted the claims of the lawyers, saying the individuals were returned to their home nations.
—Filip Timotija, The Hill, 16 Sep. 2025
Prior controversy surrounding its usage can largely be traced back to a 2002 study, the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), the results of which have largely been refuted.
—Erica Sloan, SELF, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for refute
Andrew Ravens, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
Szymon Laks, conductor of one of several male orchestras at Auschwitz-Birkenau, vehemently refuted the notion that music was helpful to anyone in the camp.
—Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2025
Ghana’s officials refuted the claims of the lawyers, saying the individuals were returned to their home nations.
—Filip Timotija, The Hill, 16 Sep. 2025
Prior controversy surrounding its usage can largely be traced back to a 2002 study, the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), the results of which have largely been refuted.
—Erica Sloan, SELF, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for refute
Recent Examples of Synonyms for refute
Verb
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The organization denied any criminal activity.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
26 Sep. 2025
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Peng denies such ties, and says Pony’s Chinese expertise may give it advantages in the US — despite the hostile political climate.—
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson,
semafor.com,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Lysenko leveraged his newfound power to suppress Soviet geneticists’ opinions and to discredit and imprison them.—
D. Scott Schmid,
Denver Post,
22 Sep. 2025
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The lawsuit also claims taxpayer funds were improperly used to pay for an investigation by retired Judge LaDoris Cordell, which fueled calls for Corpus’s ouster, and describes the probe as a pretext to discredit her administration.—
Ryan Macasero,
Mercury News,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Prosecutors also sought another charge of making false statements, court documents released Thursday show, but the grand jury rejected it.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
26 Sep. 2025
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ByteDance and TikTok had challenged the law on First Amendment grounds but the Supreme Court rejected its appeal.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Lowell said records and correspondence easily disproved Pulte’s allegation.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
20 Sep. 2025
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Not long after MacDougall’s 21 grams experiment, a scientist named Professor Twining attempted to disprove MacDougall by weighing dying mice.—
Leah Hudson,
Popular Science,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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His recommendation directly contradicts the current medical consensus that judicious Tylenol use in pregnancy remains safe.—
Edith Bracho-Sanchez,
CNN Money,
26 Sep. 2025
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The eyewitnesses — boaters who were on the scene immediately after the crash, before first responders — contradicted several key aspects of the FWC report.—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Two minutes later, Iwobi assisted Harry Wilson to overturn the deficit.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
22 Sep. 2025
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The court said Trump can fire for now the sole Democrat on the Federal Trade Commission as the justices decide whether to overturn a century-old ruling protecting the heads of independent agencies.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Every later sleuth, including Kuriyama and Honan, needs to grapple with Nicholl, if only to rebut him.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
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Starmer could have rebutted this, pointing to the Conservatives’ vastly more numerous 121 seats.—
Christian Edwards,
CNN Money,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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On Tuesday, steps away from the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in New York City, TIME hosted a panel to discuss how AI is transforming systems to address global challenges.—
Olivia B. Waxman,
Time,
24 Sep. 2025
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This was followed by a montage of media reports discussing his return to late-night hosting duties.—
Christopher Tremoglie,
The Washington Examiner,
24 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Refute.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/refute. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.
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