Refute

How it is used

In careful academic usage, to refute is to disprove, not just to deny. Writers refute a claim, an argument or a hypothesis. Many style guides warn against using it to mean simply 'reject'; use deny, dispute or reject when no proof is involved.

Example sentences

1. Large studies have refuted the claim that the MMR vaccine causes autism.

2. In the next section, I refute three common objections to this view.

Common collocations

• refute a claim
• refute an argument
• attempt to refute
• convincingly refute

Related terms

• counterargumentAn argument against your own position, which a writer presents fairly and then answers or weakens to make the main argument stronger.
• evidenceFacts, data or findings that show whether a claim or idea is true or likely to be true.
• claimA statement that something is true, which may or may not yet be supported by enough evidence.
• hypothesisA testable statement that predicts a relationship or outcome, which a study then supports or fails to support with evidence.

More terms: Argument and Hedging

• argument
• hedging
• argue
• suggest
• to some extent
• stance
• it could be argued that
• acknowledge
• arguably
• tentative
• plausible
• tend to