re·fut′a·bil′i·ty(rĭ-fyo͞o′tə-bĭl′ĭ-tē, rĕf′yə-tə-) n.
re·fut′a·ble(rĭ-fyo͞o′tə-bəl, rĕf′yə-tə-) adj.
re·fut′a·bly adv.
re·fut′er n.
Usage Note: Traditionally, the verb refute has two meanings. The first is "to prove to be false or erroneous," as in Charges of institutional bias against women were refuted by an analysis of the employment data. In this example, it is clear that an argument was mustered to demonstrate the falsity of the charges. This usage is well established as standard. The second meaning is "to deny the accuracy of," and in this use there is no mention or implication of mustering evidence or detailed reasoning. Rather, the refutation exists as a simple statement or claim. This second use has been criticized as incorrect or inappropriate since the early 1900s, despite being common. A majority of the Usage Panel accepts the use as a synonym of deny, but not by a wide margin. In our 2002 survey, 62 percent accepted the example In the press conference, the senator categorically refuted the charges of malfeasance but declined to go into details. This suggests that many readers are uncomfortable with this usage and would prefer to see deny in these contexts. Beyond these two meanings, refute is sometimes used to mean "to deny the validity of, repudiate," as in Observers are expecting the appeals court to refute the Microsoft breakup. The Panel has scant affection for this usage. Some 89 percent rejected the example just quoted in the 2002 survey.
1. to prove to be false or erroneous, as an opinion or charge.
2. to prove (a person) to be in error.
[1505–15; < Latin refūtāre to check, suppress, refute, rebut =re-re- + -fūtāre presumably, “to beat” (attested only with the prefixes con- and re-; compare confute)]
rebut, refute - To rebut a statement is to offer clear evidence or a reasoned argument against it; to refute a statement is to prove it wrong (neither means "contradict" or "deny").
Usage: The use of refute to mean deny as in I'm not refuting the fact that is thought by some people to be incorrect. In careful writing it may be advisable to use refute only where there is an element of disproving something through argument and evidence, as in we haven't got evidence to refute their hypothesis.
to prove that (a person, statement etc) is wrong. You can easily refute his argument. verkeerd bewys يَدْحَض опровергавам refutar vyvrátit widerlegen modbevise ανατρέπω επιχείρημα refutar kummutama اشتباه کسی را اثبات کردن kumota réfuter לְהַפרִיך खण्डन करना pobiti, opovrgnuti megcáfol membuktikan kesalahan hrekja, afsanna confutare 論破する 반박하다 atmesti, paneigti, sugriauti atspēkot menyangkal, menolak weerleggentilbakevise, motsipodważyć, obalić درواغ اثباتول، ردول،غلط اثباتول refutar a combate, a respinge опровергать vyvrátiť, dokázať nesprávnosť (čoho) ovreči opovrgnuti vederlägga, motbevisa พิสูจน์ว่าไม่จริง delillerle çürütmek 駁斥 спростовувати رد کرنا bác bẻ 反驳
reˈfutable adjective
verkeerd bewysbaar قابِل للدَّحْض опровержим refutável vyvratitelný widerlegbar modbevisende που μπορεί να ανατραπεί, να διαψευστεί refutable kummutatav انکار پذیر kumottavissa oleva réfutable שְאֶפשָר לְהַפרִיכוֹ खण्डन किया जा सके koji se može opovrgnuti, opovrziv megcáfolható bisa dibuktikan hrekjanlegur confutabile 論破できる 반박할 수 있는 atmestinas, paneigiamas atspēkojams boleh disangkal, boleh ditolak weerlegbaar som kan motsies/tilbakevises podważalny, do obalenia انکار refutável refutabil опровержимый vyvrátiteľný ovrgljiv koji se može opovrgnuti som kan vederläggas ซึ่งพิสูจน์แล้วว่าไม่จริง delillerle çürütülebilir 可駁斥的 спростовний قابل تردید có thể bác bẻ 可驳斥的
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