Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

confute

/kənˈfjuːt/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.07 in modern English

Syllables: con-fute
IPA: /kənˈfjuːt/

12

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To show (something or someone) to be false or wrong; to disprove or refute.

Archaic; Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"Procatalepsis is a forme of speech by which the Orator perceiving aforehand what might be objected against him, and hurt him, doth confute it before it be spoken […]."
"bad books [...] to a discreet and judicious Reader serve in many respects to discover, to confute, to forewarn, and to illustrate."
"The conjecture of [Greenland] jointing on the east with Spitzberg, Nova-zembla, and Tartary, is pretty well, if not entirely, confuted by the new discoveries of the Dutch and Russians."
"We can look up something in a book and learn it perfectly well with no other motive than to confute reinforcement theory, or out of boredom, or idle curiosity."

Etymology

From Middle French confuter, from Latin confūtō.

Regional Pronunciation

British English: /kənˈfjuːt/

Usage

Inflected Forms

confutes (present, singular) confuting (participle, present) confuted (participle, past) confuted (past)

Derived Forms

confutable confutative confutement inconfutable

Frequently Paired Words

confutation refute

Synonyms

disprove

Rhymes With

minute shoot suit route cute fruit root dispute boot suite substitute pursuit

Questions

How do you pronounce confute?: The recorded pronunciation is /kənˈfjuːt/.
What does confute mean?: To show (something or someone) to be false or wrong; to disprove or refute.
Where does confute come from?: From Middle French confuter, from Latin confūtō.

How to pronounce confute

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