Which verb means to prove a person wrong by argument or proof?

Which verb means to prove a person wrong by argument or proof?

• A. Confute
• B. Refute
• C. Rueful
• D. Rancour

Answer: (A)

The main concept here is choosing a verb that means to prove someone's argument wrong through reasoning and evidence. Confute fits this precisely: to confute someone’s argument is to demonstrate that it is false by logic or proof. Refute also means to prove something false, but it’s a bit more general and not as tightly tied to specifically overturning a particular person’s argument. Rueful and rancour are unrelated in meaning—rueful relates to regret, and rancour to bitterness. In use, you might say: The scholar confuted the opponent’s claims with new data, showing the argument to be unsound. This illustrates the direct, argumentative proof implied by the word confute.

The main concept here is choosing a verb that means to prove someone's argument wrong through reasoning and evidence. Confute fits this precisely: to confute someone’s argument is to demonstrate that it is false by logic or proof. Refute also means to prove something false, but it’s a bit more general and not as tightly tied to specifically overturning a particular person’s argument. Rueful and rancour are unrelated in meaning—rueful relates to regret, and rancour to bitterness. In use, you might say: The scholar confuted the opponent’s claims with new data, showing the argument to be unsound. This illustrates the direct, argumentative proof implied by the word confute.