Refuter

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Someone who disproves or provides evidence against a claim or theory
2. A person who challenges and proves a statement or belief to be false
3. An individual who opposes and demonstrates the invalidity of an argument or idea

Etymology: The agent suffix at the end of "refuter" is a plain piece of English machinery. It descends from Latin "-arius", a suffix that marked a person connected with or doing something, which passed into Old French as "-ier" and then into Middle English as "-er". English speakers have attached this ending to native and borrowed verbs for centuries, so a "refuter" is simply someone who does the refuting. The verb underneath it is the more interesting part. "Refute" came into English from Latin "refutare", meaning to repel, beat back or drive off, with the sense of rebuffing an argument by showing it wrong. The original image was physical: pushing something back, much like a blow turned aside. The argumentative sense developed from that, so a refuter is literally one who beats back a claim.

Synonyms: debater, disputer

Antonyms: supporter, proponent