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refute

verb

Simple meaning

Prove to be false or incorrect.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

rihfyoot

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ɹɪfˈjut

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. Prove to be false or incorrect

  2. transitiveproscribed

    To deny the truth or correctness of (something); to reject or disagree with an accusation.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient
Frequency
Uncommon
Typical Use
Primarily written

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Prove to be false or incorrect

Used this way, refute is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use refute

  • “The speaker refuted his opponent's arguments.”verb

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • refutationnounDerived noun

    The speech act of answering an attack on your assertions.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: prove to be false or incorrect

disprove

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.