Which verb means to prove a statement or argument wrong?

Which verb means to prove a statement or argument wrong?

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

Answer: (B)

When you want to show that a statement or argument is not true, you refute it. Refute is the clear, standard verb for proving something false through evidence, argument, or counterexamples. It’s exactly the action you’re describing: testing a claim and demonstrating why it doesn’t hold. In context, you’ll see refute used in debates, essays, and scientific discussions to challenge and disprove ideas with reasoning or data. For example, the researcher refuted the hypothesis by presenting measurements that contradicted the prediction. The other options don’t fit the sense of disproving a claim. Defray means to pay costs, which has nothing to do with arguing a point. Rueful is an adjective describing regret, not a verb. Confute is a valid word meaning to prove wrong, but it’s rare and archaic in modern usage; refute is the more common, straightforward choice.

When you want to show that a statement or argument is not true, you refute it. Refute is the clear, standard verb for proving something false through evidence, argument, or counterexamples. It’s exactly the action you’re describing: testing a claim and demonstrating why it doesn’t hold.

In context, you’ll see refute used in debates, essays, and scientific discussions to challenge and disprove ideas with reasoning or data. For example, the researcher refuted the hypothesis by presenting measurements that contradicted the prediction.

The other options don’t fit the sense of disproving a claim. Defray means to pay costs, which has nothing to do with arguing a point. Rueful is an adjective describing regret, not a verb. Confute is a valid word meaning to prove wrong, but it’s rare and archaic in modern usage; refute is the more common, straightforward choice.