Adjacent Words

Disprove definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DISPROVE, v.t. [dis and prove.]
1. To prove to be false or erroneous; to confute; as, to disprove an assertion, a statement, an argument, a proposition.
2. To convict of the practice of error. [Not in use.]
3. To disallow or disapprove. [Not in use.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: prove to be false; "The physicist disproved his colleagues' theories" [syn: disprove, confute] [ant: demonstrate, establish, prove, shew, show]

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French desprover, from des- dis- + prover to prove Date: 14th century to prove to be false or wrong ; refute <disprove a theory> • disprovable adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. prove false; refute. Derivatives: disprovable adj. disproval n. Etymology: ME f. OF desprover (as DIS-, PROVE)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Disprove Dis*prove", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Disproved; p. pr. & vb. n. Disproving.] [Pref. dis- + prove: cf. OF. desprover.] 1. To prove to be false or erroneous; to confute; to refute. That false supposition I advanced in order to disprove it. --Atterbury. 2. To disallow; to disapprove of. [Obs.] --Stirling.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(disproves, disproving, disproved, disproven) To disprove an idea, belief, or theory means to show that it is not true. The statistics to prove or disprove his hypothesis will take years to collect. = refute ? prove VERB: V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. Confute, refute, show to be false.

Moby Thesaurus

abjure, assert the contrary, belie, blow sky-high, blow up, break, confound, confute, contest, contradict, contravene, controvert, counter, cross, deflate, demolish, deny, destroy, disaffirm, disallow, disavow, disclaim, disconfirm, discredit, disown, dispute, evert, explode, expose, forswear, gainsay, impugn, invalidate, join issue upon, negate, negative, not accept, not admit, nullify, oppose, overthrow, overturn, prove the contrary, puncture, rebut, recant, refuse to admit, refute, renounce, repudiate, retract, revoke, shoot, show up, take back, take issue with, traverse, undercut