refuted; refuting
Synonyms
Examples of refute in a Sentence
But for every study that shows acid rain is damaging frogs, another one refutes it.
—
Emily Yoffe, New York Times Magazine, 13 Dec. 1992
And it violates the basic tenet of historical method: that the historian be alert to the negative instances that would refute his thesis and to alternative explanations that would be more plausible than his own.
—Gertrude Himmelfarb, The New History and the Old, 1987
It is not necessary to refute such an argument point by point …
—Denis Goulet, Center Magazine, May 1969
We refute these aspersions whether they come from our best friends or our worst foes.
—Sir Winston Churchill, address in House of Commons, 18 Jan. 1945,
in Nathan Aus, ed., Voices of History 1945–46, 1946
The lawyer refuted the testimony of the witness.
He refutes the notion that he's planning to retire soon.
She refuted the allegations against her.
Emily Yoffe, New York Times Magazine, 13 Dec. 1992
And it violates the basic tenet of historical method: that the historian be alert to the negative instances that would refute his thesis and to alternative explanations that would be more plausible than his own.
—Gertrude Himmelfarb, The New History and the Old, 1987
It is not necessary to refute such an argument point by point …
—Denis Goulet, Center Magazine, May 1969
We refute these aspersions whether they come from our best friends or our worst foes.
—Sir Winston Churchill, address in House of Commons, 18 Jan. 1945,
in Nathan Aus, ed., Voices of History 1945–46, 1946
The lawyer refuted the testimony of the witness.
He refutes the notion that he's planning to retire soon.
She refuted the allegations against her.
Recent Examples on the Web
Lori Robertson, director of the nonpartisan website FactCheck.org, which also partnered with Meta, also refuted Zuckerberg's notion that fact-checking contributed to a suppression of opinion.
—Kate Gibson, CBS News, 8 Jan. 2025
In 2011, his former Minister of Justice directly refuted the previous statements, claiming that Gaddafi directly ordered the bombing.
—Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 6 Jan. 2025
Well … that one is going to be hard to spin or refute!
—Zach Harper, The Athletic, 3 Jan. 2025
Baldoni’s attorneys said the example was just one of many that soundly refute Lively’s allegations.
—Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 1 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for refute 
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Kate Gibson, CBS News, 8 Jan. 2025
In 2011, his former Minister of Justice directly refuted the previous statements, claiming that Gaddafi directly ordered the bombing.
—Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 6 Jan. 2025
Well … that one is going to be hard to spin or refute!
—Zach Harper, The Athletic, 3 Jan. 2025
Baldoni’s attorneys said the example was just one of many that soundly refute Lively’s allegations.
—Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 1 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for refute
Articles Related to refute
Dictionary Entries Near refute
Cite this Entry
“Refute.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/refute. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
refute
verb
re·fute
ri-ˈfyüt 
refuted; refuting
: to prove wrong by argument or evidence : show to be false
refute the testimony of a witness
refuter
noun
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