Dictionary

refute en · VERB

Pronunciation

• rə-fyo͞ot
• /ɹəˈfjuːt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ɹɪˈfjuːt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• audio Queensland
• /ɹəˈfjut/ (Canada, General-American)
• rĭ-fyo͞ot
• /ɹɪˈfjut/ (Canada, General-American)
• /ɹɪˈfjʉːt/ (Australia)
• (California) audio
• /ɹəˈfjʉːt/ (New-Zealand)

Etymology

From Latin refūtō (“refute, repudiate”).

Meanings

1. (transitive) To prove (something) to be false or incorrect.
   • After we came out of the church, we stood talking for some time together of Bishop Berkeley's ingenious sophistry to prove the non-existence of matter, and that every thing in the universe is merely ideal. I observed, that though we are satisfied his doctrine is not true, it is impossible to refute it. I never shall forget the alacrity with which Johnson answered, striking his foot with mighty force against a large stone, till he rebounded from it, "I refute it thus." 1791, James Boswell, The life of Samuel Johnson, LL. D.:
2. (proscribed, transitive) To deny the truth or correctness of (something); to reject or disagree with an accusation.
   • A spokesperson for VARS Technology said: “We completely refute the suggestion that our market-leading ANPR system is unreliable". 2025 December 20, Taro Kaneko, “Family ‘banned from more than 1,000 petrol stations’ amid fuel theft row”, in The Guardian:

Forms

Antonyms

confirm · demonstrate · embrace · accept · affirm · affirm · prove · profess

Deriveds

self-refute · nonrefuted · unrefuting · unrefuted · nonrefuting

Relateds

refutation · refuted · refutal · refutable · refutably · refusal · refuter · refutability · refudiate · refuse

Synonyms

confound · deny · counterargue · rebut · repudiate · gainsay · reject · rebut · dispute · disprove · debunk

Translations (87)

fr contester (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · bg опровергавам (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · fy wjerlizze (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · cs zavrhnout (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · ar فَنَّدَ (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · tr delilleri çürütmek (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · fr réfuter (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · ru опрове́ргнуть (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · es rebatir (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · ja 言い返す (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · de widerlegen (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · fr chicaner (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · hy հերքել (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · es refutar (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · sv vederlägga (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · hu tagad (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · it smentire (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · mi whākorekore (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · pt negar (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · ar أَدْحَضَ (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · ar كَذَّبَ (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · fr rejeter (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · stq wierlääse (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · eo nei (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · fi kieltää (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · pt desmentir (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · tr yanlışlığını kanıtlamak (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · ja 反証する (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · ml നിരാകരിക്കൽ (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · ro refuta (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · zdj ukadhibisha (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · bg отхвърлям (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · nl weigeren (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · de anfechten (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · frr weđerlii (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · es salir al paso de (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · hi दूषण (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · el διαψεύδω (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · ja 反駁する (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · ja 反駁する (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · ml ദൂഷണം (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · sa दूषण (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · sl ovreči (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · eo refuti (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · it smentire (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · tr karşı çıkmak (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · ru отрица́ть (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · sh оповрга́вати (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · sv motbevisa (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · sh opovrgávati (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · es negar la mayor (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · el ανασκευάζω (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · he הִפְרִיךְ (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · ca refutar (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · cs vyvrátit (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · es negar rehusar (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · es ripostar (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · cmn 反駁 /反驳 (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · ar دَحَضَ (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · nl weerleggen (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · de widersprechen (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · vi bác bỏ (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · hy հերքել (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · fr récuser (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · ja 言い返す (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · mi whawhati (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · sh opòvrgnuti (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · fi osoittaa vääräksi (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · la redarguō (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · cs popřít (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · nl refuteren (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · pt refutar (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · tr aksini ispatlamak (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · es rechazar (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · es impugnar (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · de entkräften (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · az təkzib etmək (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · grc εὐθύνω (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · la refūtō (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · ru опроверга́ть (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · la refellō (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · sh опо̀вргнути (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · tr reddetmek (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · no motbevise (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · fi kiistää (to deny the truth or correctness of (something)) · el αντικρούω (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect) · hu cáfol (to prove (something) to be false or incorrect)