Synonyms

disconfirm

American

[dis-kuhn-furm] / ˌdɪs kənˈfɜrm /

verb (used with object)

to prove to be invalid.

disconfirm British

/ ˌdɪskənˈfɜːm /

verb

(tr) (of a fact or argument) to suggest that a hypothesis is wrong or ill-formulated

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

disconfirmation noun

Etymology

Origin of disconfirm

First recorded in 1935–40; dis- ¹ + confirm

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.

I want to think about it before I confirm it or disconfirm it, but there’s something to that.

From Salon • Jun. 23, 2018

With such methods, it has been possible to confirm Darwin’s theory or, saying this another way, to show that Darwin’s theory can withstand efforts to disconfirm it.

From Salon • Mar. 9, 2014

The currency of science is observable, replicable observations that confirm or disconfirm predictions, but, as I noted earlier, meaning doesn’t lend itself willingly to this kind of approach because it’s quite hard to observe.

From Scientific American • Dec. 28, 2012

The general objective of this step is to learn and collect data that will either confirm or disconfirm the hypotheses developed earlier.

From Inc • Jul. 10, 2012

Saying as little as possible in response to pointed questions makes it all the more difficult to confirm or disconfirm details.

From Scientific American • Jul. 7, 2011

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023