refutere‧fute /rɪˈfjuːt/ verb [transitive] formal 
an attempt to refute Darwin’s theories2to say that a statement is wrong or unfair SYN denyrefute an allegation/a suggestion etc She refuted any allegations of malpractice.—refutable adjective—refutation /ˌrefjʊˈteɪʃən/ noun [countable, uncountable]
WORD ORIGINrefute
Origin:
1500-1600 Latin refutare, from -futare ‘to hit’VERB TABLE
refute
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | refute |
| he, she, it | refutes | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | refuted |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have refuted |
| he, she, it | has refuted | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had refuted |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will refute |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have refuted |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am refuting |
| he, she, it | is refuting | |
| you, we, they | are refuting | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was refuting |
| you, we, they | were refuting | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been refuting |
| he, she, it | has been refuting | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been refuting |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be refuting |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been refuting |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- I knew that he was lying but I had no evidence with which to refute his story.
- Several scientists have attempted to refute Moore's theories.
- The accusation has been wholly refuted by an in-depth analysis of the evidence.
- He learned how to boom out facts and figures to the city council members that they were unable to refute.
- It is hard to refute these biblical arguments.
- Something which I can positively refute!
- The technique can also be used to confirm or refute current theories.
- There is no reason to refute this argument: undoubtedly this is a sentiment seemingly shared by many Shetlanders.
- There was really very little I could do actively to refute the charge of selfishness.
- These data do not refute the law of demand.
- This time, Gold did not refute the point.
Longman Language Activatorto prove that something is wrong, untrue, or does not exist
to prove that something is wrong or not true: · She was able to produce figures that disproved Smith's argument.· The existence of God is a question of faith, and therefore impossible to prove or disprove.
formal to prove that what someone has said is not true: · I knew that he was lying but I had no evidence with which to refute his story.· The accusation has been wholly refuted by an in-depth analysis of the evidence.
to prove that something is not true, especially something that people have believed for a long time, and make it seem silly or unimportant: · In her book she debunks a lot of the claims made by astrologers.· Payton wants to debunk the myth that economics is a science.
formal if a fact or piece of information invalidates an explanation or idea, it proves that it contains mistakes which make it unlikely to be true - used in scientific contexts: · None of the more recent views invalidates Hahnemann's original discoveries or teachings.· If we look closely at Professor Thomson's argument, we see that his conclusion is invalidated by a number of factual errors.
to prove that an argument or idea is completely wrong: · It would not be difficult to demolish a theory that was so obviously a load of rubbish.· There was a time when the response "that's a value judgement" would have demolished any argument in the educational field.
: explode a myth/rumour to prove that something that many people think or believe is wrong or not true: · The report explodes the myth that men are bed-hopping rogues.
a negative result of a medical or chemical test does not show any sign of the condition you are testing for and therefore proves it does not exist in this person or situation: · All the athletes' drugs tests were negative.· a negative pregnancy test· The first brain scan proved negative.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY an attempt to refute Darwin’s theories She refuted any allegations of malpractice.
1to prove that a statement or idea is not correct SYN rebutrefute a hypothesis/a claim/an idea etc an attempt to refute Darwin’s theories She refuted any allegations of malpractice. an attempt to refute Darwin’s theories2to say that a statement is wrong or unfair SYN denyrefute an allegation/a suggestion etc She refuted any allegations of malpractice.—refutable adjective—refutation /ˌrefjʊˈteɪʃən/ noun [countable, uncountable]