disprove

[ dis-proov ]

verb (used with object)

, dis·proved, dis·prov·ing.

1. to prove (an assertion, claim, etc.) to be false or wrong; refute; invalidate:

   I disproved his claim.

   Synonyms: confute, negate, contradict, discredit

disprove

/ dɪsˈpruːv /

verb

1. tr to show (an assertion, claim, etc) to be incorrect

Derived Forms

• disˈprovable, adjective
• disˈproval, noun

Other Words From

• dis·prova·ble adjective
• dis·prover noun
• undis·prova·ble adjective
• undis·proved adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of disprove¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French desprover, equivalent to des- dis- ¹( def ) + prover prove

Example Sentences

Develop a hypothesis, test the hypothesis and try to disprove it.

From Slate

Some of it is easy to disprove on its surface, as when he opened by softening up Trump by pointing to what he says in an episode of “The View” from 2015 or 2016 where “Whoopi Goldberg gives you a big hug and a kiss. Joy Behar gives you a big hug. Barbara Walters gives you a big hug. They all loved you . . . And then you actually started winning in the polls, and then the machine started working towards you.”

From Salon

Prosecutors, however, have insisted that new evidence does not disprove their case that the child died from injuries inflicted by her father.

From BBC

The office’s analysis provided a different interpretation of the video than Beck and the Police Commission, arguing it did not disprove Proctor’s claim that Glenn was reaching for his partner’s weapon.

From Los Angeles Times

Incredibly, it once took a photograph of presidential candidate Gary Hart with Donna Rice, a young campaign worker, sitting on his lap, to disprove Hart’s denial that he was a “womanizer.”

From Salon

Related Words

• belie
• confound
• contradict
• discredit
• impugn
• invalidate
• negate
• rebut
• refute