rebut
/rɪˈbʌt
/verb (rebuts, rebutting, rebutted) [with object]
1Claim or prove that (evidence or an accusation) is false: he had to rebut charges of acting for the convenience of his political friends...
- The Nationalists will now be able to claim independent authority when next they seek to rebut Labour's accusation that ‘divorce is an expensive business’.
- A lot of time is spent on rebutting accusations and counter-accusations at the expense of development.
- One, a lawyer, makes detailed submissions rebutting the prosecution evidence.
Synonyms
refute, deny, disprove, prove wrong, prove false;
invalidate, negate, contradict, counter, discredit, give the lie to, drive a coach and horses through, quash, explode, shoot down, destroy
informal shoot full of holes, blow sky-high
rare controvert, confute, negative
2 archaic Drive back or repel (a person or attack): but he ... their sharp assault right boldly did rebut...
- Had Cleveland's message come sooner, perhaps his supporters might have had enough time to rebut the onslaught of attacks.
- This process took several minutes, though he managed to keep his darker half in check at all times, rebutting him at every strike.
- Thus, on his account, my ‘zealous effort’ to rebut the authors I discuss harms the cause of peace.
Derivatives
rebuttable
- There was a presumption for life, but the presumption is rebuttable.
- If you regard a presumption as rebuttable, you are NOT following it dogmatically!
- However, if the transfer is to a child… there is a rebuttable presumption of advancement or gift instead.
Origin
Middle English (in the senses 'rebuke' and 'repulse'): from Anglo-Norman French rebuter, from Old French re- (expressing opposition) + boter 'to butt'. Sense 1 (originally a legal use) dates from the early 19th century.