What does refute mean?
Word: Refute
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Refute means to prove that a claim or idea is wrong.
Synonyms: disprove
Word origin: Came into English in the 1500s from Latin.
How do you spell refute?
Syllables: re - fute
Tricky part: Students often double the f, but the word has a single one, as in refer.
Watch out for: reffute, rephute
Memory tip: One solid proof is enough for a false claim: one proof, one f.
Refute in a sentence
Example 1: The student used her lab results to refute a claim made in the article.
Example 2: Satellite photos refute the idea that the lake has dried up.
Example 3: Can you refute his argument with facts?
Fun Fact
James Boswell wrote that Samuel Johnson once answered a philosopher's idea that solid objects might not exist by kicking a large stone and saying 'I refute it thus!'
Practise the CREST Way
Spellacadabra
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
ref___
a) uit
b) eut
c) ute
d) oot
Show answer
c) ute. The ending matches flute and dispute.
Word Twins
Choose the correct option to fill both blanks:
1. New fossil finds helped scientists ____ the old theory. 2. Please do not ____ a friend who asks for help.
a) refuse/refute
b) 'refuse' in both
c) refute/refuse
d) 'refute' in both
Show answer
c) refute/refuse. Evidence can show a theory to be wrong, while a request is something you might turn down.
Word Puzzle
Match each word with its opposite:
1. refute 2. abate 3. shun a. increase b. confirm c. welcome
a) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
b) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
c) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
d) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
Show answer
c) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c. What abates grows less, so increase is its opposite; to shun people is the reverse of welcoming them.
Jumble Tumble
What is the meaning of the word that can be formed from the given letters?
furtee
a) to make a broken thing work again
b) to say no to an offer of help
c) to give back money paid for something
d) to show by evidence that a claim does not hold
Show answer
d) to show by evidence that a claim does not hold. The letters make the verb for answering a false claim with proof.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Someone says no bird can swim. Which fact would refute this?
a) Owls hunt at night.
b) Eagles fly high.
c) Penguins swim well.
d) Sparrows eat seeds.
Show answer
c) Penguins swim well.
2. A debater who refutes her rival's point has ____.
a) shown it to be mistaken
b) asked for more time
c) thanked him for making it
d) repeated it in other words
Show answer
a) shown it to be mistaken
