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rebut - 6 dictionary results

re⋅but

  [ri-buht] verb, -but⋅ted, -but⋅ting.
Use rebut in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to refute by evidence or argument.
2. to oppose by contrary proof.
–verb (used without object)
3. to provide some evidence or argument that refutes or opposes.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME reb(o)uten < OF rebouter, equiv. to re- re- + bouter to butt 3

Related forms:
re⋅but⋅ta⋅ble, adjective

Synonyms:
1. disprove, confute.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To rebut
re·but   (rĭ-bŭt')   
v.   re·but·ted, re·but·ting, re·buts

v.   tr.
  1. To refute, especially by offering opposing evidence or arguments, as in a legal case.
  2. To repel.
v.   intr.
To present opposing evidence or arguments.

[Middle English reboten, rebutte, to rebuke, repel, from Old French rebouter : re-, re- + bouter, to push (of Germanic origin; see bhau- in Indo-European roots).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Rebut

Re*but"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Rebutted; p. pr. & vb. n. Rebutting.] [OF. reb??ter to repulse, drive back; pref. re- + bouter to push, thrust. See 1st Butt, Boutade.]

1. To drive or beat back; to repulse.

Who him, recount'ring fierce, as hawk in flight, Perforce rebutted back. --Spenser.

2. (Law) To contradict, meet, or oppose by argument, plea, or countervailing proof. --Abbott.

Rebut

Re*but"\, v. i. 1. To retire; to recoil. [Obs.] --Spenser.

2. (Law) To make, or put in, an answer, as to a plaintiff's surrejoinder.

The plaintiff may answer the rejoinder by a surrejoinder; on which the defendant. --Blackstone.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : rebut
Spanish: escoria,
German: der Abschaum,
Japanese: くず
More Translations »

rebut 
c.1300, from O.Fr. rebuter "to thrust back," from re- "back" + boter "to thrust, hit" (see butt (v.)). Sense of "try to disprove, refute" is from 1817. Rebuttal first recorded 1830.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: re·but
Pronunciation: ri-'b&t
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: re·but·ted; re·but·ting
Etymology: Anglo-French reboter rebuter to answer a charge, bar from an action, literally, to repulse, rebuff, from Old French reboter, from re- back + boter to push, butt
: to refute, counteract, or disprove (as opposing evidence) by evidence or argument <rebut damaging testimony> <rebut a presumption> —re·but·ta·ble adjective —re·but·ta·bly adverb
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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