Synonyms

disprove

American

[dis-proov] / dɪsˈpruv /

verb (used with object)

to prove (an assertion, claim, etc.) to be false or wrong; refute; invalidate.

I disproved his claim.

Synonyms:

confute, negate, contradict, discredit

disprove British

/ dɪsˈpruːv /

verb

(tr) to show (an assertion, claim, etc) to be incorrect

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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Etymology

Origin of disprove

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French desprover, equivalent to des- dis- ¹ ( def. ) + prover prove

Explanation

When you disprove something, you argue against it or give evidence that it's not true. A student falsely accused of cheating on a test will work hard to disprove it. Even though it took years to be acknowledged, Galileo's theory that the planets revolve around the sun managed eventually to disprove previous ideas that the Earth was at the center of the universe. If your friends think your family is ridiculously wealthy, you can disprove this idea by showing them the tiny house you live in and the beat up old car your dad drives. The Old French source of disprove is desprover, "refute or contradict."

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Braun argued that the portrayal of his client drinking and racing wasn’t supported by the facts and that there was no evidence to disprove his client’s testimony that he was traveling at 55 mph.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2026

I go back to, and this is the conversation I have internally as well, the hardest thing to disprove is a negative.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 16, 2026

“They’re trying to disprove a negative in terms of their operations,” Stucky said of the affected companies.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 24, 2026

FBI data alone cannot prove or disprove the claim that crime is at a 125-year low because, as he points out, it only started publishing statistics in 1930, and only consistently after 1960.

From BBC • Feb. 23, 2026

I knew that the best way to disprove them was simply to be direct and honest about everything that I had done.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023