Refutative

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Connected to the action of rejecting or disproving a specific statement or argument
2. Pertaining to the presentation of evidence that contradicts or undermines a claim or assertion
3. Pertaining to the act of showing that a statement or belief is incorrect or invalid

Etymology: "Refutative" is formed from "refute" plus the adjective-forming suffix "-ative," and the two parts carry the story. "Refute" comes from Latin "refutare," meaning "to repel, beat back, or drive off," which is also the source of the sense "to push back against." It passed into English in the 16th century, and the meaning was originally closer to "to disprove" or "to rebut" in a physical or verbal sense, as when one drives an opponent off the field of argument. The suffix "-ative" came into English through Old French "-atif" from Latin "-ativus," used to build adjectives meaning "tending to" or "having the nature of" the action in the root. Attaching it to "refute" produced "refutative," which describes something that tends to disprove or rebut. Compared with its close relative "refutatory," which appeared in English around the same period, "refutative" is the less common form, and dictionaries record it mainly as a formal, learned term.

Synonyms: disproving, contradictory