refutable

[ ri-fyoo-tuh-buhl, ref-yuh-tuh- ]

adjective

1. able to be proven false:

   The statement is so vague as to be neither provable nor refutable.

Other Words From

• re·fut·a·bil·i·ty [ri-fyoo-t, uh, -, bil, -i-tee, ref-y, uh, -t, uh, -], noun
• re·fut·a·bly adverb
• un·re·fut·a·ble adjective
• un·re·fut·a·bly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of refutable¹

First recorded in 1570–80 for an earlier sense; refut(e) ( def ) + -able ( def )

Example Sentences

In fact, the proof was not there, and it was easily refutable.

From Literature

Before the editorial board, Manion was wrong to repeat vague and easily refutable “concerns” about the leanings of Ferrell’s donors and supporters.

From Seattle Times

At the time she said was “concerned about some very obvious, refutable factual inaccuracies” in “Inventing Anna” but was more interested in the true-crime entertainment genre as a whole.

From Los Angeles Times

That was conducted by Cyber Ninjas loyal to Trump yet unable to come up with anything more than 360 additional votes for Joe Biden and easily refutable charges about illegal voters.

From Washington Post

To show that a statement X is not refutable in ZFC, it is enough to find a universe in which both ZFC and X are valid.

From Scientific American

Related Words

• debatable
• imaginary
• problematic
• speculative
• theoretical
• vague