refuted

past tense of refute

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of refuted The museum also refuted claims of adverse working conditions. Harrison Jacobs, ARTnews.com, 11 Aug. 2026 Players from that 1951 side have strongly refuted the story, while the priest at its centre has never been identified. Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 27 July 2026 The country's health minister, David Kershenobich, refuted the FDA's assertion on July 21. Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 22 July 2026 That would have dedicated more than a tenth of the NIH’s annual budget to investigating a hypothesis already refuted by scientists worldwide. CNN Money, 16 July 2026 North Crowley head coach DeMarcus Harris refuted the claim, saying there was no distinct evidence the move was made for athletic reasons, and supported Parks’ claim that Meredith had friends in the North Crowley community. Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 July 2026 Wainger also refuted the assertion that Pennel had expected to be arrested. Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 1 July 2026 Reports emerged earlier this year that Beatrice and Eugenie were not invited to Royal Ascot, only to be refuted by subsequent reports claiming that they were invited, after all. Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 28 June 2026 After her daughter's murder, Franchetti began a grassroots movement to rewrite family court law, but the legislation was held up by legal language that might have greenlighted hearsay allegations or the potential for false claims that couldn't be refuted. Jennifer McLogan, CBS News, 12 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for refuted
Verb
  • Combs has repeatedly denied any involvement in Shakur’s killing and has never been named by investigators as a suspect or even a person of interest in the case.
    Sasha Pezenik, ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Arday admitted making citation errors and apologized, but denied lying.
    Rupert Neate, CNN Money, 16 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • After the exam was discredited, at least 20 students died by suicide, according to Agence France-Presse.
    Philip Wang, Time, 25 July 2026
  • Yet the president often relies on theories that independent reviews long ago discredited.
    Joey Garrison, USA Today, 16 July 2026
Verb
  • Karmelo Anthony, now 19, was convicted of murder and sentenced to 35 years in prison after a Collin County jury in June rejected his claims of self-defense during a confrontation with Austin Metcalf in the stadium bleachers last year.
    ABC News, ABC News, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Peltola's campaign rejected the support of former Vice President Kamala Harris days ahead of the primary, after Harris' PAC sought to fundraise on her behalf.
    Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • But the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned the murder convictions this May and ordered a retrial, saying Colleton County’s then-clerk tainted the first trial with what the defense said was prejudicial comments to the jury.
    Devon M. Sayers, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Rosenwald family resources helped provide the facilities that made possible the accomplishments of the Tuskegee airmen, and supported NAACP legal efforts that ultimately overturned school segregation.
    Harold Pollack, Chicago Tribune, 14 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • But cell phone footage captured by bystanders contradicted that account.
    Rebecca Schneid, Time, 12 Aug. 2026
  • The defense wrote that Lee’s statements in the recorded phone calls directly contradicted the defensive theory and strategy that Gonzalez was the person who caused all the injuries and the death of the child.
    Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Leppanen recounted that a colleague told her that the pouches dissolved even though the information that disproved this was available online.
    Matthew Chapman, STAT, 14 July 2026
  • This left open the question of whether more complex, loopy geometries would behave differently, while also leaving competing historical theories yet to be disproved.
    Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 13 July 2026
Verb
  • Such interventions were rebutted by Dal Babu, a former chief superintendent of London’s Metropolitan Police.
    Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 3 June 2026
  • Nazir, for his part, rebutted the allegation.
    Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 2 June 2026
Verb
  • Patriarchal norms are increasingly challenged by women empowered by progressive legislation that requires half of political parties’ candidates to be women and, at least on paper, guarantees women’s access to land ownership.
    ABC News, ABC News, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Going forward, tickets that are fewer than 20 days old will be eligible to be challenged online.
    Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 17 Aug. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Refuted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/refuted. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on refuted

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster