refute

Verb

Meaning

To disprove and overthrow by argument, evidence, or countervailing proof; to prove to be false or erroneous; to confute; as, to refute arguments; to refute testimony; to refute opinions or theories; to refute a disputant.

Source: Webster's dictionary

Synonyms

disprove rebut reject deny repudiate debunk controvert answer challenge counter contest oppose contradict invalidate discredit
Show all synonyms

Antonyms

accept prove demonstrate make own state
Show all antonyms

Hypernyms

renounce disprove repudiate disown confute

Hyponyms

answer oppose contradict controvert

Related terms

refusal refuse refutation nonstandard refutable refuter

Phrases with the word

refute rumors refute rumours

Derivatives

refuted refuting

Anagrams

feuter feutre Fuerte

Examples

Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute. Josh Billings

Shared pain is lessened; shared joy, increased - thus do we refute entropy. Spider Robinson

[Art] can speak its own language only as long as the images are alive which refuse and refute the established order. Herbert Marcuse

Ignorance of the law excuses no man; not that all men know the law, but because 'tis an excuse every man will plead, and no man can tell how to refute him. John Selden

One can prove or refute anything at all with words. Soon people will perfect language technology to such an extent that they'll be proving with mathematical precision that twice two is seven. Anton Chekhov

The biogeographic evidence for evolution is now so powerful that I have never seen a creationist book, article, or lecture that has tried to refute it. Creationists simply pretend that the evidence doesn't exist. Jerry Coyne

Close letter words and terms

refutative refutatively refutatory refute rumors refute rumours refuter