debunk

verb

de·bunk (ˌ)dē-ˈbəŋk

debunked; debunking; debunks

Synonyms of debunk next

transitive verb

: to expose the sham (see sham entry 1 sense 2) or falseness of

debunk a legend

debunker noun

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To debunk something is to take the bunk out of it—that bunk being “nonsense.” (Bunk is short for the synonymous bunkum, which has political origins.) Debunk has been in use since at least the 1920s, and it contrasts with synonyms like disprove and rebut by suggesting that something is not merely untrue but is also a sham—a trick meant to deceive. One can simply disprove a myth, but if it is debunked, the implication is that the myth was a grossly exaggerated or foolish claim.

Examples of debunk in a Sentence

The article debunks the notion that life exists on Mars. The results of the study debunk his theory.

Recent Examples on the Web

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

The county quickly debunked the rumor, but it was subsequently repeated by Seth Keshel, a prominent questioner of the legitimacy of the 2020 election. —

Erin Mansfield, USA TODAY, 2 Nov. 2024 State election officials took only a few hours to debunk the video, and the FBI blamed Russian actors for producing it. —

Simon Shuster, TIME, 2 Nov. 2024 The second time in two weeks intel officials debunked a Russian operation. —

Luke Barr, ABC News, 1 Nov. 2024 Modern research has debunked the idea that our brains become fixed after a certain age, demonstrating that this capacity for change continues well into adulthood. —

Nik Ershov, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for debunk