Confuting

Confuting
Confute Con*fute, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Confuted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Confuting}.] [L. confutare to chek (a boiling liquid), to repress, confute; con- + a root seen in futis a water vessel), prob. akin to fundere to pour: cf. F. confuter. See {Fuse} to melt.] To overwhelm by argument; to refute conclusively; to prove or show to be false or defective; to overcome; to silence. [1913 Webster]

Satan stood . . . confuted and convinced Of his weak arguing fallacious drift. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

No man's error can be confuted who doth not . . . grant some true principle that contradicts his error. --Chillingworth. [1913 Webster]

I confute a good profession with a bad conversation. --Fuller.

Syn: To disprove; overthrow; sed aside; refute; oppugn.

Usage: To {Confute}, {Refute.} Refute is literally to and decisive evidence; as, to refute a calumny, charge, etc. Confute is literally to check boiling, as when cold water is poured into hot, thus serving to allay, bring down, or neutralize completely. Hence, as applied to arguments (and the word is never applied, like refute, to charges), it denotes, to overwhelm by evidence which puts an end to the case and leaves an opponent nothing to say; to silence; as, ``the atheist is confuted by the whole structure of things around him.'' [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • confuting — n. the act of demonstrating that something is false; confutation. Syn: falsification, falsifying, disproving, refuting. [WordNet 1.5] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • confuting — index contradictory, contrary Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • confuting — con·fute || kÉ™n fjuːt v. prove wrong, disprove …   English contemporary dictionary

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  • Confutation — (Roget s Thesaurus) < N PARAG:Confutation >N GRP: N 1 Sgm: N 1 1 =>{ant,478,} confutation refutation Sgm: N 1 answer answer complete answer Sgm: N 1 disproof disproof conviction redargution invalidation Sgm: N …   English dictionary for students

  • Ascendant — As*cend ant, Ascendent As*cend ent, a. 1. Rising toward the zenith; above the horizon. [1913 Webster] The constellation . . . about that time ascendant. Browne. [1913 Webster] 2. Rising; ascending. Ruskin. [1913 Webster] 3. Superior; surpassing;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Ascendent — Ascendant As*cend ant, Ascendent As*cend ent, a. 1. Rising toward the zenith; above the horizon. [1913 Webster] The constellation . . . about that time ascendant. Browne. [1913 Webster] 2. Rising; ascending. Ruskin. [1913 Webster] 3. Superior;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Confutation — Con fu*ta tion, n. [L. confutatio: cf. F. confutation.] The act or process of confuting; refutation. For the edification of some and the confutation of others. Bp. Horne. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Confute — Con*fute, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Confuted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Confuting}.] [L. confutare to chek (a boiling liquid), to repress, confute; con + a root seen in futis a water vessel), prob. akin to fundere to pour: cf. F. confuter. See {Fuse} to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Confuted — Confute Con*fute, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Confuted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Confuting}.] [L. confutare to chek (a boiling liquid), to repress, confute; con + a root seen in futis a water vessel), prob. akin to fundere to pour: cf. F. confuter. See {Fuse}… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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