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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of refute
This software can confirm or refute the manager's suspicion about worker performance.
—
Simon Dae Oong Kim, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025
Gillett refuted those charges and the case remains pending.
—John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 4 June 2025
Biden and his allies have staunchly and repeatedly refuted claims that others in the building were making major decisions or that Biden lacked the mental and physical sharpness to carry out his duties.
—Brett Samuels, The Hill, 2 June 2025
At the time, the lawyer, with Meghan's permission, addressed claims that the Duchess of Sussex had bullied staff after marrying Harry — something her office has strongly refuted through the years.
—Becca Longmire, People.com, 2 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for refute
Simon Dae Oong Kim, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025
Gillett refuted those charges and the case remains pending.
—John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 4 June 2025
Biden and his allies have staunchly and repeatedly refuted claims that others in the building were making major decisions or that Biden lacked the mental and physical sharpness to carry out his duties.
—Brett Samuels, The Hill, 2 June 2025
At the time, the lawyer, with Meghan's permission, addressed claims that the Duchess of Sussex had bullied staff after marrying Harry — something her office has strongly refuted through the years.
—Becca Longmire, People.com, 2 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for refute
Recent Examples of Synonyms for refute
Verb
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But the company denies claims that its equipment sparked the 2019 fire, which tore through Sylmar, Porter Ranch and Granada Hills — all suburbs of Los Angeles — burning 8,799 acres.—
Melody Petersen,
Los Angeles Times,
28 June 2025
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Three courts stopped the president’s attempt to deny citizenship to babies born to mothers who lack legal permanent residency in the United States – the cases that led the Supreme Court to limit the reach of injunctions.—
Cassandra Burke Robertson,
The Conversation,
27 June 2025
Verb
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Terrible policy Perhaps Gabbard is sounding the alarm to discredit efforts — including a sanctions bill held up in Congress pending a green light from Trump — to pressure Putin into a meaningful negotiation on ending his war.—
Marc Champion,
Mercury News,
13 June 2025
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The irony is that the FTC is blind to the meaning of such substantial investment from Amazon, the very investment that thoroughly discredits the FTC’s case.—
John Tamny,
Forbes.com,
9 June 2025
Verb
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This can manifest into an AI tool that ends up rejecting qualified job candidates because it was trained on biased data.—
Janice Gassam Asare,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2025
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That kind of backlash prompted officials in La Mesa, Oceanside, Vista and Carlsbad to reject digital billboard proposals.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 June 2025
Verb
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Mathematical Experiments Still, this does not necessarily disprove the HOD conjecture, or render Woodin’s Ultimate L program moot.—
Gregory Barber,
Quanta Magazine,
20 June 2025
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This forces you to consider what data would disprove your assumptions, rather than just confirm them.—
Ramalakshmi Murugan,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2025
Verb
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But the Iranian Mission to the United Nations was quick to contradict his claim, posting on X that the regime would not negotiate under duress.—
NBC News,
NBC news,
19 June 2025
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However, President Trump has now contradicted Gabbard.—
Geoff Brumfiel,
NPR,
18 June 2025
Verb
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The measure is designed to overturn a series of executive orders by Trump, including banning transgender troops in the U.S. military and blocking transgender students from playing on girls’ sports teams.—
Christopher Keating,
Hartford Courant,
21 June 2025
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Thursday night's ruling overturned a temporary restraining order that had been paused during appeals.—
Dennis Romero,
NBC news,
20 June 2025
Verb
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Attorneys for Reyes will answer the complaint, attempt to rebut BLA’s allegations and raise defenses.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
18 June 2025
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The Times said Musk had multiple opportunities to reply or rebut the report before its publication.—
Miranda Nazzaro,
The Hill,
2 June 2025
Verb
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The president initially appeared to favor a delay in any attack to give diplomatic efforts more time, nudging Iran to come to the table to discuss curtailing its nuclear program.—
Shelby Talcott,
semafor.com,
22 June 2025
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Never mind that the two teams had discussed a deal at the February trade deadline, or that their coach, Ime Udoka, had grown close with Durant during their time together in Brooklyn and was known to be a major advocate for a possible Durant move.—
Kelly Iko,
New York Times,
22 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Refute.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/refute. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
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