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debunk

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To debunk is defined as to reveal an untruth or myth for what it is, or to reduce someone's reputation especially when the reputation is undeserved.

(verb)

When you prove that a myth or often repeated story isn't true, this is an example of a time when you debunk the myth.
When you ridicule someone who everyone else thinks is great and you try to or are successful in diminishing his reputation, this is an example of a time when you debunk.

See debunk in Webster's New World College Dictionary

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transitive verb

to expose the false or exaggerated claims, pretensions, glamour, etc. of

Origin: de- + bunk

See debunk in American Heritage Dictionary 4

transitive verb de·bunked, de·bunk·ing, de·bunks

To expose or ridicule the falseness, sham, or exaggerated claims of: debunk a supposed miracle drug.

Related Forms:

de·bunkˈer noun

Word History: One can readily see that debunk is constructed from the prefix de-, meaning “to remove,” and the word bunk. But what is the origin of the word bunk, denoting the nonsense that is to be removed? Bunk came from a place where much bunk has originated, the United States Congress. During the 16th Congress (1819-1821) Felix Walker, a representative from western North Carolina whose district included Buncombe County, carried on with a dull speech in the face of protests by his colleagues. Walker later explained he had felt obligated “to make a speech for Buncombe.” Such a masterful symbol for empty talk could not be ignored by the speakers of the language, and Buncombe, spelled Bunkum in its first recorded appearance in 1828 and later shortened to bunk, became synonymous with claptrap. The response to all this bunk seems to have been delayed, for debunk is not recorded until 1923.

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