Spanish Conversation · Level 44
75 words
Spanish word
refutar
Pronunciation
IPA/refuˈtaɾ/
Meaning
- verbrefute
Example
No puedo refutar tu argumento.
I cannot refute your argument.
More examples
No pudieron refutar la acusación sin testigos.
They could not refute the accusation without witnesses.
Core concept
Evidence and argument that overturn an assertion.
Common phrases
refutar una acusación
refute an accusation
refutar un argumento
refute an argument
Similar words
negar: Denies the truth of a statement without necessarily offering proof.
contradecir: States the opposite of what someone else has said.
rebatir: Argues against an assertion by offering counterpoints.
desmentir: Asserts that reported information or rumors are untrue.
Definition in Spanish
Rechazar una afirmación mostrando argumentos o pruebas que la contradicen.
Word origin
Spanish refutar derives from Latin refutare 'to repel', where re- expresses opposition, and the verb entered Spanish via medieval Latin with the sense of rejecting an assertion by argument.
Usage tips
- Refutar carries a stronger, evidential tone than negar, so it is more typical in debates, essays, and formal rebuttals than in casual disagreement.
Other meanings
- disproveverb
- rebutverb
Opposites
- aceptaracceptverb
Related words
- refutaciónrefutationnoun
- refutablerefutableadjective