Confute

v. t.

1.

To overwhelm by argument; to refute conclusively; to prove or show to be false or defective; to overcome; to silence. [imp. & p. p. Confuted; p. pr. & vb. n. Confuting.] Satan stood . . . confuted and convinced Of his weak arguing fallacious drift. - Milton. No man's error can be confuted who doth not . . . grant some true principle that contradicts his error. - Chillingworth. I confute a good profession with a bad conversation. - Fuller.

Verb

1.

confute - prove to be false; "The physicist disproved his colleagues' theories" Synonyms: disprove

answer, answer conclusively, antagonize, argue down, be antipathetic, be inimical, beat against, break, clash, collide, conflict, conflict with, confound, contradict, contrapose, contravene, controvert, counter, counteract, counterattack, countercharge, counterclaim, counterpose, countervail, counterwork, cross, crush, defeat, demolish, deny, disconfirm, dismiss, dispose of, evert, finish, floor, go against, go counter to, interfere with, lock horns, make a rebuttal, meet head-on, militate against, nonplus, oppose, oppugn, overthrow, overturn, overwhelm, parry, put to silence, rebut, reduce to silence, refute, rejoin, resist, run against, run counter to, settle, shut up, silence, smash all opposition, squash, squelch, subvert, surrebut, surrejoin, swim upstream, undermine, upset, work against