Other Word Forms
- confutative adjective
- unconfutative adjective
Etymology
Origin of confutation
1425–75; late Middle English confutacioun (< Middle French ) < Latin confūtātiōn- (stem of confūtātiō ), equivalent to confūtāt ( us ) silenced (past participle of confūtāre; confute, -ate 1 ) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
A confutation is the act of refuting someone's point forcefully. Accused criminals must offer confutation if they hope to be found innocent. If you know the verb confute — which means to overwhelm through an argument — this noun will be a no-brainer: it refers to the act of confuting, or a statement that confutes. The meaning is not that far removed from refutation, with which confutation shares a Latin root. A confutation proves that another idea is false or nonsensical. People who argue for a living, like lawyers, are masters of confutation.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Almost simultaneously Artist Thomas Gainsborough produced his famed Blue Boy, intentionally or not a complete confutation of haughty Artist Reynolds.
From Time Magazine Archive
At such times the sight of that road whence he had looked upwards to her window was a consolation, almost a confutation of her dreams.
From Miranda of the Balcony A Story by Mason, A. E. W. (Alfred Edward Woodle)
The author of "The Rights of Man" may therefore be a confutation of his own dictum: "An hereditary governor is as inconsistent as an hereditary author."
From The Life Of Thomas Paine, Vol. I. (of II) With A History of His Literary, Political and Religious Career in America France, and England; to which is added a Sketch of Paine by William Cobbett by Conway, Moncure Daniel
On grounds of Scripture and reason he at length declared for Protestantism, and wrote in 1634, but did not publish, a confutation of the motives which had led him over to Rome.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 2 "Chicago, University of" to "Chiton" by Various
It is, however, of great service to point them out; for the doctrine of idols bears the same relation to the interpretation of nature as that of the confutation of sophisms does to common logic.
From Manhood of Humanity. by Korzybski, Alfred
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
