Refute
/rɪˈfjuːt/noun
To prove a statement or theory to be false or incorrect.
Did you know?Refute comes from Latin refutare, a verb used for driving back, checking, or suppressing something, so its oldest force is less “debate” and more “push it away.”
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
refutare
“to drive back, repel, check, suppress”
Late Latin
Latin
refutare
“to reject or disprove”
Old French
Old French
refuter
“to disprove, rebut”
14th Century
English
refuten
“to disprove or prove wrong”
Modern English
English
refute
“to prove a statement false”