/disprove-meaning

/disprove-meaning-definition

-) Transitive verb.

-) Pronunciation and accent: dɪspruːv.

-) Etymology: from Old French desprover, which is analysed into des- (prefix implying the idea of “the opposite of”, from Latin dis-) + prover (to prove), derived from Latin probare (to test [a thing] as to its goodness.)

-) Third-person singular simple present: she/he disproves.

-) Preterite tense, preterite participle: disproved.

-) Present participle: disproving.

-) Documented since 1300.

-) 1. -) a. (The subject: a person) to prove (an assertion, opinion, conjecture, proposition, etc.) to be false or erroneous; to demonstrate not to be true; show the falsity or erroneousness of, through disproof. -) b. (The subject: a fact, an evidence, etc.) to be the disproof of; to be useful to prove (an assertion, opinion, proposition, etc.) to be false or erroneous.

-) Synonyms for “disprove”: to refute, confute. DENY is simply to declare to be untrue, with no implication of disproof.

-) Antonyms of “disprove”: to confirm, corroborate, verify, substantiate.

-) Translation: desmentir, in Spanish; smentire, in Italian; démentir, in French.

It is impossible, of course, to disprove a marriage which we are told was secretly performed, without banns or licence or witnesses.

Swift… The Journal to Stella… 1766

Popular opinion in Spain attributes the superiority of the wool in the merino to these periodical migrations; but this appears to be disproved by the fact that the wool of the stationary sheep is sometimes equally good.

O. Goldsmith… A history of the earth… 1774

I more than half believed, though I affected to disprove her assertion.

M. Brunton… Discipline… 1814

[The] object of disproving the calumnies against him.

Jane and Maria Porter… Coming out… 1828

He did not believe a word of the story, and yet, how discredit or disprove it?

Thackeray… Vanity Fair… 1848

Not one of these statements is denied, much less disproved.

Agnes Strickland… Lives of the queens of Scotland… 1851–1859

… could you open the stomachs of these ants and examine the contents, so as to prove or disprove this remarkable hypothesis?

Darwin… More letters… 1870

"Well," said Van Valkenburgh, "I will have the body exhumed to-morrow, and when we have disproved the calumny, this scheme of your enemies will do you more good than harm."

A. Pinkerton… The Somnambulist… 1875

It is possible […] that farther research might disclose additional facts, or at least verify or disprove the conjectures we have ventured to make as to the dates of such facts as are known.

The eclectic magazine…

-) 2. Archaic acceptation: to prove (a person) to be untrue or erroneous.

-) English words derived from Latin probare: proof (noun, adj., verb), proofless, prooflessly, proveable, provable, provability, provableness, provably, proveably, proved, provedly, unprovable, unprovability, unprovableness, unproved, unprovedness, disproved, disproving, disproval, disprovable, disprovement, disprover, disapprobation, disapprobative, disapprobatory, disapprovable, disapproval, disapprove, disapproved, disapproving, disapprovingly, disapprover, approvable, approvableness, approval, approve, approved, approvedly, approvedness, approvement, approver, approving, approvingly.