refutation

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See also: réfutation

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French refutation (compare French réfutation, Spanish refutación, Portuguese refutação, Italian refutazione) or its etymon Latin refūtātiō, from refūtō + -ātiō. By surface analysis, refute +‎ -ation. First attested in 1536 (in sense 1).

Pronunciation

Noun

refutation (countable and uncountable, plural refutations)

  1. An act of refuting or disproving; the disproving of an argument, opinion, testimony, doctrine or theory by argument or countervailing proof; evidence of falseness.
    Synonyms: refutal; confutation, disproof, disconfirmation, rebuttal
    Near-synonym: rebuttal (see note)
    • 1913, William Horton Foster, “Refutation”, in Debating for Boys, page 78:
      Apply these tests to his arguments and you will render your task of refutation easier. But in your refutation, be sure you refute. Don’t think for a minute that either heat or violence or sarcasm is a good answer.
  2. (proscribed) A vocal answer to an attack on one's assertions.

Usage notes

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References

  1. ^ William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E Smith, editors (1911), “refutation”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
  2. 2.0 2.1 refutation”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
  3. 3.0 3.1 refutation”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.