Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To prove to be false or erroneous; overthrow by argument or proof: refute testimony.
- v. To deny the accuracy or truth of: refuted the results of the poll.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To disprove and overthrow by argument or countervailing proof; prove to be false or erroneous: as, to refute a doctrine or an accusation.
- To overcome in argument; prove to be in error: as, to refute a disputant.
- Synonyms Confute and Refute agree in representing a quick and thorough answer to assertions made by another. Confute applies to arguments, refute to both arguments and charges.
- n. See refuit.
Wiktionary
- v. To prove (something) to be false or incorrect.
- v. To deny the truth or correctness of (something).
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To disprove and overthrow by argument, evidence, or countervailing proof; to prove to be false or erroneous; to confute
WordNet 3.0
- v. prove to be false or incorrect
- v. overthrow by argument, evidence, or proof
Etymologies
- Latin refūtāre; see bhau- in Indo-European roots.
Examples
“**: I say “more standard” here even though her usage of refute is still non-standard.”
“But one point Matt made tonight that I'd like to hear someone refute is the stupidity of canceling public option as a way to get Republicans to vote for the bill.”
“My last word (I hope), is to once again refute your post at #115.”
“I take it by "rebut" you mean the legal sense of "refute" - but refute implies success i.e. that you have disproved my contention.”
On Thursday, the Legg report will be published along with...
“(You better look up the word refute – apparently, you don†™ t know the definition.)”
“For to refute is to contradict one and the same attribute-not merely the name, but the reality-and a name that is not merely synonymous but the same name-and to confute it from the propositions granted, necessarily, without including in the reckoning the original point to be proved, in the same respect and relation and manner and time in which it was asserted.”
“YOu didn't "refute" anything .... all you did was try to go on the personal attacks, other than you one point regarding the tax cuts but the fact is that the IRS stats do not support your argument.”
“I'd respond to your inaccuracies point by point, but they kind of refute themselves.”
“While she most likely meant "refute" or "repudiate," you will not find her innovative "refudiate" in an English dictionary.”
Forbes: The Conversation: Sarah Palin And The English Dictionary
“The word "refute" was one of the most misused in the English language even before Sarah Palin came along.”
The Guardian: Word of the day: Sarah Palin invents 'refudiate'
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘refute’.
-
GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4084 more...
-
Talk Talk
Words for Talking
squawk, gab, chatter, chitchat, blab, prattle, blather, discuss, hector, plead, cajole, harangue and 189 more...
-
gre
municipal, whit, dissembler, berate, liberally, embellish, dissimilitude, histrionics, flamboyance, bombastic, bovine, calumny and 142 more...
-
I am : talking
"These are talking words," I announce. "You mean verbs that can be used for dialogue?" you ask. "That's right!" I agree.
say, speak, ask, declare, query, shout, yell, scream, shriek, squeal, squeak, screech and 81 more...
-
Words in which "u" is pronounced "yu"
cute, uniform, puny, municipal, butte, fume, perfume, puke, cucumber, huge, demure, cube and 56 more...
Comments
No comments yet...
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.