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 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 That same year, Patricia Richardson refuted the possibility of returning to the characters while appearing on the Back to the Best podcast. Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026 California officials, including Secretary of State Shirley Weber, have repeatedly refuted claims of fraud and, in fact, have defended the state’s slower process as critical to ensuring the counts are accurate. Linh Tat, Daily News, 9 June 2026 At trial, defense lawyer Bob Varga refuted the accusation, noting there was no bodycam footage of the incident. Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2026 Such claims have been systematically refuted by evidence submitted to Norfolk Superior Court. Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 4 June 2026 As reported by the New York Times’ Ben Mullin in a post on X, Pelley refuted the content of Weiss’ audio recording transcript entirely. Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 3 June 2026 Bohm’s parents have refuted those claims and the two sides are still attempting to determine where the court battle will proceed. Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 31 May 2026 However, Braun refuted those allegations. Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 29 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for refuted
Verb
  • The guilty plea was a stunning reversal for Heuermann who, according to his lawyer, tearfully denied being responsible for the killings after his arrest in 2023.
    N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 18 June 2026
  • The court filings said that Roa denied any involvement in the conspiracy.
    Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2026
Verb
  • Those accusations have long been discredited.
    Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 June 2026
  • After the war, his goalscoring statistics were deleted and his achievements were discredited, with the Polish press labelling him as mentally unstable and an alcoholic.
    Tim Spiers, New York Times, 1 June 2026
Verb
  • Officials in Hood County, Texas, for example, rejected a proposal for a six-month moratorium after a state senator urged the Texas attorney general to intervene and prevent the measure.
    Rachel Mural, The Conversation, 18 June 2026
  • New Delhi, however, rejected the claim, insisting the ceasefire was the result of direct bilateral talks with Pakistan.
    Kyra Colah, FOXNews.com, 18 June 2026
Verb
  • The ruling overturned a decision in February by three senior High Court judges who found that despite the group promoting its political cause through some crimes, the scale of activities did not warrant a ban.
    ABC News, ABC News, 15 June 2026
  • The ruling overturned a February decision by three senior High Court judges who found that, despite the group promoting its political cause through some crimes, the scale of its activities did not warrant a ban.
    Brian Melley, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2026
Verb
  • Some reported a few dozen microbe types, others more than 900, and one company even contradicted itself on the same sample.
    Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 June 2026
  • However, other testimonies contradicted that claim and stated that Wacasey had custody of Trey following their 2017 divorce.
    Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 16 June 2026
Verb
  • These allegations will be disproved like all the rest.
    Liza Esquibias, USA Today, 9 June 2026
  • The timing of the declaration comes two weeks after OpenAI publicized one of its AI models as having disproved an 80-year-old mathematical conjecture in geometry.
    Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 2 June 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
  • The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has challenged six regional grid operators to justify or overhaul their connection rules for massive electricity users, like AI data centers, within 60 days.
    Ron Schmelzer, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026
  • For most leagues, this would be an open-and-shut case; a ban from the sport would never be challenged.
    Jemele Hill, The Atlantic, 19 June 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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