refute (2009-09-28)

Part of Speech: verb

Pronunciation: [rê-'fyut]

Definition: (1) To disprove. (2) To deny the accuracy or truth of.

Usage: Given the confusion over meanings, be sure to make yours clear from context: "I refuted her outlandish claims with the aid of a large dictionary." Sometimes, you may be unable to decide what style of refutation another person is using: "His refutative ramblings were so impenetrable I have no idea whether he had a point to make or was just disagreeing with me."

Suggested Usage: The older, stronger meaning implies some demonstration of falsity in another person's argument. The weaker usage evolved in the 1960s, and implies only vigorous disagreement, without any burden of proof. The widespread use of "refute" in this second sense has been accepted by many dictionaries; but some, including the Oxford English Dictionary, still describe the second use as "erroneous," so you may wish to avoid it in formal speech or writing. A statement that can be disproved is "refutable." A disproof is a "refutation," which is used by a "refuter" in a "refutative" way.

Etymology: From the Latin refutare, meaning "to repel, repress or disprove." The verb confutare was also used with similar meaning, giving rise to our word "confute," which is synonymous with the first meaning of "refute." The Latin words used the prefixes re- and con- as intensifiers on the stem -futa-, which probably derives from Proto-Indo-European *bhau "to knock off." In the Germanic languages, *bhau gave rise to several words associated with assault or disagreement: "beat," "lambaste" and "rebut." The concept of "knocking off" also took another route, and became associated with the blunt end of an object—from which we can derive various meanings of our word "butt."