But for every study that shows acid rain is damaging frogs, another one refutes it.—Emily Yoffe, New York Times Magazine, 13 Dec. 1992And it violates the basic tenet of historical method: that the historian be alert to the negative instances that would refute his thesis and to alternative explanations that would be more plausible than his own.—Gertrude Himmelfarb, The New History and the Old, 1987It is not necessary to refute such an argument point by point …—Denis Goulet, Center Magazine, May 1969We refute these aspersions whether they come from our best friends or our worst foes.—Sir Winston Churchill, address in House of Commons, 18 Jan. 1945,
in Nathan Aus, ed., Voices of History 1945–46, 1946
The lawyer refuted the testimony of the witness.
He refutes the notion that he's planning to retire soon.
She refuted the allegations against her.
Recent Examples on the WebThough Carter refuted the claims, he was again accused of rape in August 2023 when a plaintiff known as A.R. filed a lawsuit against him following an incident that took place in 2003.—Rebecca Aizin, Peoplemag, 28 May 2024 The prosecution pushes back Prosecutors spent six hours walking the jury through every part of their case and refuting claims made by the defense.—Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 28 May 2024 In addition to refuting the belief that Aboriginals did not make pottery, the findings also overturn other assumptions about Indigenous Australians.—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 May 2024 Viewing the film as anti-Polish, the government insisted that a two-minute video refuting its depictions be shown in theaters beforehand.—Greg Braxton, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for refute
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'refute.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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