refute

re·fute (ri fyo̵̅o̅t′)

transitive verb -·fut′ed, -·fut′·ing

to prove (a person) to be wrong; confute
to prove (an argument or statement) to be false or wrong, by argument or evidence
to deny the truth or validity of: usage objected to by some

Etymology: L refutare, to repel, check: see re- & confute

re·fut′able (ri fyo̵̅o̅t′ə bəl, ref′yə tə bəl) adjective re·fut′·ably adverb re·fut′er noun

disprove, confute, show up, rebut, explode, expose, prove false, overthrow, show the weakness in, discredit, provide refutation for, argue against, oppose, tear down, demolish, squelch, take a stand against, invalidate, cancel, cancel out, belie, give the lie to, repudiate, contradict, negate, dispute, contravene, parry, contend, debate, disclaim, convict, reply to, quash, crush, gainsay, dispose of, knock holes in*, not leave a leg to stand on*; see also answer 3, confute, deny.

Antonyms support*, uphold*, stand by. See syn. study at disprove.disprove.

Object

allegation: At Fraserburgh police station, Inspector Duncan refuted these allegations with some warmth.
accusation: Speaking to our reporter aboard his new luxury yacht moored in the Azores, Mr Galloway again refuted these accusations.
assertion: I believe Deut 6: 4-7 refutes this assertion.
suggestion: No absolute evidence to confirm or refute this suggestion has ever been found.
hypothesis: Unfortunately there is no data to accept or refute these hypotheses.
notion: The Project Eagle team refute such scary sci-fi notions.

Used with why or when

what: I would not presume to refute what you say.

Preposition: by

fact: All of these are readily refuted by the facts in each case.
analysis: The rnam grangs min pa'i don dam is precisely unutterable and thus cannot be refuted by ultimate analysis.
scientist: When a scientific theory is refuted by scientists, the community accepts that and tries to find another, better theory.
argument: However such an idea is obviously refuted by the Chinese room argument.
evidence: This argument has now been refuted by scientific evidence.
official: Braver's findings have never been refuted by any official or scholar.

Modifying Another Word

soundly: Hence, once again, MENJ's obfuscation is exposed and soundly refuted.
decisively: His letter decisively refutes every one of Mr Hitchens ' spurious points.
categorically: He said: " I can categorically refute that.
convincingly: Juniper's ' geophysical reality ' was, however, convincingly refuted.
vigorously: However English Heritage has vigorously refuted these claims and I can now report that the application has been turned down.
strongly: Peter Mandelson's claims have been strongly refuted by Oxfam.

Preposition: in

way: Tired old arguments that small schools cannot cope with the curriculum are now being thoroughly refuted in ways the public understands.

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