1
as in to deny
to declare not to be true
while he was publicly refuting rumors of a merger, behind the scenes the CEO was working to effect that very outcome
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to discredit
to prove to be false
the victories of African-American athlete Jesse Owens in the 1936 Olympics effectively refuted the racial views of the Nazis
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Recent Examples of refute
In other words, the study examined only the most favorable subset of the data and ignored the data most likely to refute its hypothesis.
—
Charles "cully" Stimson/the Heritage Foundation, Boston Herald, 3 Feb. 2025
While Kansas public health officials called it the largest U.S. concentration of the disease since recording began in the 1950s, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has refuted this, citing two larger episodes in the past.
—Cory Franklin, Chicago Tribune, 18 Feb. 2025
Nicole’s lawyer, Bruce Weil of law firm Boies Schiller Flexner, refutes that claim, saying that Dr. Wertheim never made such an offer.
—Kerry A. Dolan, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2025
In a statement provided to Outside, Tracy refuted the claim.
—Jayme Moye, Outside Online, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for refute
Charles "cully" Stimson/the Heritage Foundation, Boston Herald, 3 Feb. 2025
While Kansas public health officials called it the largest U.S. concentration of the disease since recording began in the 1950s, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has refuted this, citing two larger episodes in the past.
—Cory Franklin, Chicago Tribune, 18 Feb. 2025
Nicole’s lawyer, Bruce Weil of law firm Boies Schiller Flexner, refutes that claim, saying that Dr. Wertheim never made such an offer.
—Kerry A. Dolan, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2025
In a statement provided to Outside, Tracy refuted the claim.
—Jayme Moye, Outside Online, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for refute
Recent Examples of Synonyms for refute
Verb
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Their findings paint a more complicated picture, one that her mother has denied.—
Brian Brant,
People.com,
28 Feb. 2025
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Andrew and Tristan Tate deny all charges against them.—
Ewan Palmer,
Newsweek,
28 Feb. 2025
Verb
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And a cover-up may have furthered the aims of domestic espionage operations like the CIA’s CHAOS and the FBI’s COINTELPRO, which targeted and discredited radical movements whether hippies, Black Panthers, or anti-war activists.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
21 Feb. 2025
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Yes, but: King's family is concerned that Trump's order to release records about his assassination could revive the FBI's attempts to discredit him — efforts that sought to exploit his indiscretions with women and undermine his legacy, sources close to his relatives told Axios.—
Russell Contreras,
Axios,
20 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Never the favorite of his party's professional advisers, Merz was twice rejected as Merkel's successor as party leader, in 2018 and 2021, before his doggedness won out in 2022.—
Thomas Escritt,
USA TODAY,
24 Feb. 2025
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Today, far-right parties like the AfD seek to embrace a different model that rejects political integration in favor of an economic union along the lines of earlier, postwar integration.—
TIME,
TIME,
23 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The academics were able to disprove this theory by looking at language, rhyme, grammar and word forms.—
Julia Webster Ayuso,
The Dial,
21 Nov. 2024
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The success of this endeavor disproved decades of conventional wisdom that Israeli normalization in the region would not happen without a comprehensive peace deal with the Palestinians.—
Yair Rosenberg,
The Atlantic,
14 Feb. 2025
Verb
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This contradicts the precedent set by prior direct payments, such as the Covid-19 stimulus checks, which were heavily weighted toward lower-income Americans and could create a political quagmire for Trump.—
Shahar Ziv,
Forbes,
21 Feb. 2025
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Trump’s own administration has contradicted that claim, The Associated Press reported.—
Danielle Battaglia,
Charlotte Observer,
20 Feb. 2025
Verb
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As of now, there is no case before the Supreme Court directly seeking to overturn Obergefell.—
Tom Rogers,
Newsweek,
22 Feb. 2025
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While a regional court in Cologne initially recognized four of Birkenstock’s shoe models as works of applied art and granted the company’s orders in 2017, a higher regional court in the city later overturned the orders on appeal in 2022.—
Karen K. Ho,
ARTnews.com,
21 Feb. 2025
Verb
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His longtime legal adviser has said that Mr. Latchford was comatose at the time and unable to rebut the charges.—
Mike Ives,
New York Times,
19 Feb. 2025
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Falsehoods that reveal something about the speaker may have enough value to keep, so long as they are rebutted, but detail that is truly unverifiable, or clearly and unfixably specious, will typically be cut: deciding what not to publish can be just as important as deciding what to keep in.—
Fergus McIntosh,
The New Yorker,
11 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The survey found that 84% of Black singles discuss STI/STD status before becoming intimate, which is significant considering the pervasiveness of STIs and STDs in the United States.—
Elizabeth Ayoola,
Essence,
22 Feb. 2025
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Panelists discuss the president’s firing of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General C. Q. Brown.—
The Editors,
The Atlantic,
22 Feb. 2025
Articles Related to refute
Cite this Entry
“Refute.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/refute. Accessed 6 Mar. 2025.
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