1
as in denying
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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in discrediting
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in disproving
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
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 refuting
Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2025
Two people aim to jointly and with intensity deliberate with each other, testing each other, refuting each other at times, and otherwise pursuing an in-depth cross-examining dialogue.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 4 Jan. 2025
The former Florida lawmaker has vehemently denied the allegations and, in September, sent the House Committee a letter refuting them.
—Jim Little, USA TODAY, 18 Dec. 2024
But the company is refuting that now.
—Scott Thompson, Fox News, 9 Dec. 2024
The foodie feud between Ina Garten and Martha Stewart continues on, with the former refuting Stewart’s story about their falling out.
—Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 7 Dec. 2024
Hours after the report, the Bloomington Police Department issued a statement refuting the bombshell claim.
—Kc Baker, People.com, 5 Dec. 2024
And these imbalances preceded diagnosis of autism, ADHD or intellectual disability by 13 to 14 years on average, refuting the assumption that gut microbe imbalances arise from diet.
—Angelica P. Ahrens, The Conversation, 2 Oct. 2024
Adjective
Hall ended up refuting his own hypothesis.
—Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2025
Two people aim to jointly and with intensity deliberate with each other, testing each other, refuting each other at times, and otherwise pursuing an in-depth cross-examining dialogue.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 4 Jan. 2025
The former Florida lawmaker has vehemently denied the allegations and, in September, sent the House Committee a letter refuting them.
—Jim Little, USA TODAY, 18 Dec. 2024
But the company is refuting that now.
—Scott Thompson, Fox News, 9 Dec. 2024
The foodie feud between Ina Garten and Martha Stewart continues on, with the former refuting Stewart’s story about their falling out.
—Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 7 Dec. 2024
Hours after the report, the Bloomington Police Department issued a statement refuting the bombshell claim.
—Kc Baker, People.com, 5 Dec. 2024
And these imbalances preceded diagnosis of autism, ADHD or intellectual disability by 13 to 14 years on average, refuting the assumption that gut microbe imbalances arise from diet.
—Angelica P. Ahrens, The Conversation, 2 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for refuting
Verb
-
After first denying the nonprofit’s request for more time, the state agency in January extended the timeline to allow for construction to complete in October 2026.—
Jake Goodrick,
Sacramento Bee,
14 Mar. 2025
-
According to Mike White logic, the greatest sin isn’t being a mess but wasting your energy in denying rather than dealing.—
Joe Joyce,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
14 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Poor data quality can provide wrong models and alerts, discrediting predictive monitoring.—
Hrushikesh Deshmukh,
Forbes,
24 Feb. 2025
-
Johnson released new guidelines for reporting gifts Wednesday after discrediting the investigation.—
Jake Sheridan,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
In the hours following the attack, the was some initial confusion about whether law enforcement was investigating it as a terrorist incident, as the New Orleans mayor and an FBI special agent gave contradicting answers.—
Siladitya Ray,
Forbes,
2 Jan. 2025
-
Check to see if the responses are consistently aligned, covering benefits without contradicting each other.—
Margarita Simonova,
Forbes,
27 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
Balancing these seemingly contradictory demands requires a paradigm shift: one that doesn’t view technology and humanity as mutually exclusive, but rather as complementary forces that can amplify each other.—
Swati Deepak Kumar,
Forbes.com,
24 June 2025
-
Combs’ team has been able to put on much of their case during cross-examination of the government’s nearly three dozen witnesses, grilling them about alleged inconsistencies in their testimony or seemingly contradictory statements.—
Nancy Dillon,
Rolling Stone,
24 June 2025
Verb
-
But make no mistake, retaining Gordon beyond this season is a priority for the Bears front office and something Poles and his staff are discussing.—
Dan Wiederer,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Mar. 2025
-
Florida police said that corrections officers in the state found messages between Victoria and a prison inmate discussing a plot to have her husband killed, according to an arrest report obtained by TMZ, which first reported news of the arrest.—
Ryan Coleman,
EW.com,
14 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265, which went on an historic two-and-a-half week strike in March after negotiations for a new contract broke down, had filed a petition with the Sixth District Court of Appeal on April 1, challenging the ruling of the Santa Clara County Superior Court.—
Caelyn Pender,
Mercury News,
13 Apr. 2025
-
Today big tech is aggressively challenging long-standing legal protections in copyright law, in intellectual property, fair data practices and data privacy protections.—
Hessie Jones,
Forbes.com,
13 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
In response to the report, the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday modified a bill that increases penalties for falsifying police records to extend those penalties to detention records.—
Emilia Otte,
Hartford Courant,
9 Apr. 2025
-
Allen was charged with four counts of second-degree official misconduct and one count each of pattern of official misconduct, theft by deception, tampering with public records or information, falsifying or tampering with records and computer theft.—
Muri Assunção,
New York Daily News,
9 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Refuting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/refuting. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share