| 单词 | refute |
| 例句 | refute verb •attempts to refute Einstein's theory:disprove, prove wrong, prove false, debunk, discredit, invalidate | informal poke holes in | formal confute.CHOOSE THE RIGHT WORD refute, confute, deny, rebut, reject Refute is not synonymous with rebut or deny. That is, it doesn't mean merely “counter an argument” but “disprove beyond doubt; prove a statement false.” Yet the word is commonly misused for rebut —e.g.: “Ontario Hydro strongly refuted [read rebutted or denied ] the charges, saying none of its actions violate the Power Corporations Act.” ( Ottawa Citizen; Apr. 25, 1997.) Sometimes refute is misused for reject —e.g.: “Two-thirds of people refuted [read rejected ] [Nicholas Ridley's] belief that European Monetary Union is a ‘German racket to take over the whole of Europe.’ ” ( Sunday Telegraph [UK]; July 15, 1990.) Confute is essentially synonymous with refute in the sense “prove to be false or wrong.” It's probably the stronger term, but it's much rarer. — BGThese notes show fine distinctions in meaning between closely related synonyms to help you find the best word. |
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