- refute
- To disprove. This is a success word ; to attempt to disprove something is to argue against it or to reject it, but not yet to refute it.
Philosophy dictionary. Academic. 2011.
refute
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Refute — Re*fute (r?*F3t ), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Refuted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Refuting}.] [F. r[ e]futer, L. refuteare to repel, refute. Cf. {Confute}, {Refuse} to deny.] To disprove and overthrow by argument, evidence, or countervailing proof; to prove to… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
refute — means ‘to prove (something) false by argument’, and the element ‘by argument’ is important; it should not be used simply as an alternative for deny or repudiate(or in some cases reject or dispute) which imply straightforward rejection without… … Modern English usage
réfuté — réfuté, ée (ré fu té, tée) part. passé de réfuter. Argument réfuté vingt fois … Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré
refute — ► VERB 1) prove (a statement or the person advancing it) to be wrong. 2) deny (a statement or accusation). DERIVATIVES refutable adjective refutation noun. USAGE Strictly speaking, refute means ‘prove (a statement) to be wrong’, although it is… … English terms dictionary
refute — I verb abnegate, belie, cancel, confute, contend, contradict, contravene, controvert, crush, debate, defeat, demolish, deny, destroy, disaffirm, disclaim, discredit, dispose of, disprove, explode, falsify, gainsay, impugn, invalidate, negate,… … Law dictionary
refute — (v.) 1510s, refuse, reject, from L. refutare drive back, repress, repel, rebut, from re back (see RE (Cf. re )) + futare to beat, probably from PIE root *bhat to strike down (Cf. BAT (Cf. bat) (n.1 … Etymology dictionary
refute — confute, rebut, *disprove, controvert Analogous words: contradict, impugn, traverse, negative, contravene (see DENY) … New Dictionary of Synonyms
refute — [v] prove false; discredit abnegate, argue against, blow sky high*, break, burn, burn down, cancel, cancel out, confute, contend, contradict, contravene, convict, counter, crush, debate, demolish, disclaim, disconfirm, dispose of, disprove,… … New thesaurus
refuté — Refuté, [refut]ée. part … Dictionnaire de l'Académie française
refute — [ri fyo͞ot′] vt. refuted, refuting [L refutare, to repel, check: see RE & CONFUTE] 1. to prove (a person) to be wrong; confute 2. to prove (an argument or statement) to be false or wrong, by argument or evidence 3. to deny the truth or validity… … English World dictionary
refute — [[t]rɪfju͟ːt[/t]] refutes, refuting, refuted 1) VERB If you refute an argument, accusation, or theory, you prove that it is wrong or untrue. [FORMAL] [V n] It was the kind of rumour that it is impossible to refute. Syn: disprove 2) VERB If you… … English dictionary
