Confute vs. Refute

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

To overwhelm by argument; to refute conclusively; to prove or show to be false or defective; to overcome; to silence.

Example: ‘Satan stood . . . confuted and convincedOf his weak arguing fallacious drift.’; ‘No man's error can be confuted who doth not . . . grant some true principle that contradicts his error.’; ‘I confute a good profession with a bad conversation.’;

prove to be false;

Example: ‘The physicist disproved his colleagues' theories’;

(transitive) To prove (something) to be false or incorrect.

(transitive) To deny the truth or correctness of (something).

To disprove and overthrow by argument, evidence, or countervailing proof; to prove to be false or erroneous; to confute; as, to refute arguments; to refute testimony; to refute opinions or theories; to refute a disputant.

Example: ‘There were so many witnesses in these two miracles that it is impossible to refute such multitudes.’;

overthrow by argument, evidence, or proof;

Example: ‘The speaker refuted his opponent's arguments’;

prove to be false or incorrect

prove (a statement or theory) to be wrong or false; disprove

Example: ‘these claims have not been convincingly refuted’;

prove that (someone) is wrong

Example: ‘his voice challenging his audience to rise and refute him’;

deny or contradict (a statement or accusation)

Example: ‘a spokesman totally refuted the allegation of bias’;

The defence called several respectable witnesses who were able to refute the false testimony.