verb
-
(tr) to prove (a statement, theory, charge, etc) of (a person) to be false or incorrect; disprove
-
to deny (a claim, charge, allegation, etc)
Usage
The use of refute to mean deny is thought by many people to be incorrect
Other Word Forms
- refutability noun
- refutable adjective
- refutably adverb
- refuter noun
- self-refuted adjective
- self-refuting adjective
- unrefuted adjective
- unrefuting adjective
Etymology
Origin of refute
First recorded in 1505–15; from Latin refūtāre “to check, suppress, refute, rebut,” equivalent to re- re- + -fūtāre presumably, “to beat” (attested only with the prefixes con- and re-; confute )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In a statement on X, Amesty claimed that the case was dismissed because her legal team “masterfully refuted all the false allegations against me and cleared my name.”
From Salon
Just because a filmmaker does something with one film that a viewer may not jive with doesn’t mean their work should be refuted forevermore.
From Salon
Outside of the Chagall exhibition in Moscow, former piano teacher Irina refutes the idea of trying to escape from the war.
From Barron's
Campbell refuted the claim that he said he would "harm" groundsman Low, who he described as being "really good" at his job.
From BBC
“We keep on moving until you really can’t refute the evidence, and it becomes something that you have to confront,” they said.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
