Standard Lemma guide

disprove

verb · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • dĭs-pro͞ovʹ
  • Received-Pronunciation: /dɪsˈpɹuːv/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /dɪsˈpɹuv/
  • Mid-Atlantic, US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australian: /dɪsˈpɹʉːv/
  • Brisbane Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -uːv
  • CMU ARPABET: D IH0 S P R UW1 V Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To prove to be false or erroneous; to confute; to refute.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Examples

  • disprove a theory
  • disprove a hypothesis

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

prove to be false

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • The physicist disproved his colleagues' theories

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: confute

Antonyms: prove

Broader terms: negate, contradict

Narrower terms: explode, refute, rebut, controvert, falsify

History

Etymology

From Middle English disproven, dispreven, from Old French desprover, from des- + prover, equivalent to dis- + prove.

Across languages

Translations

36 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: دَحَضَ (daḥaḍa) — to refute
  • Belarusian: абвярга́ць (abvjarhácʹ) — to refute
  • Belarusian: абве́ргнуць (abvjérhnucʹ) — to refute
  • Bulgarian: опровергавам (oprovergavam) — to refute
  • Bulgarian: оборвам (oborvam) — to refute
  • Chinese Mandarin: 駁斥 /驳斥 (bóchì) — to refute
  • Czech: vyvrátit — to refute
  • Dutch: weerleggen — to refute
  • Dutch: ontkrachten — to refute
  • Finnish: osoittaa vääräksi — to refute
  • Finnish: kumota — to refute
  • French: réfuter — to refute
  • French: infirmer — to refute
  • German: widerlegen — to refute
  • Greek: ανταποδεικνύω (antapodeiknýo) — to refute
  • Hungarian: megcáfol — to refute
  • Italian: confutare — to refute
  • Japanese: 反駁する (hanbaku suru) — to refute
  • Latin: refellō — to refute
  • Latin: redarguō — to refute
  • Old English: unsōþian — to refute
  • Portuguese: desmentir — to refute
  • Portuguese: refutar — to refute
  • Russian: опроверга́ть (oprovergátʹ) — to refute
  • Russian: опрове́ргнуть (oprovérgnutʹ) — to refute
  • Serbo-Croatian: opovrgnuti — to refute
  • Spanish: refutar — to refute
  • Spanish: rebatir — to refute
  • Spanish: desmentir — to refute
  • Spanish: desdecir — to refute
  • Swedish: motbevisa — to refute
  • Swedish: vederlägga — to refute
  • Tagalog: pabulaanan — to refute
  • Ukrainian: спросто́вувати (sprostóvuvaty) — to refute
  • Ukrainian: спростува́ти (sprostuváty) — to refute
  • Welsh: gwrthbrofi — to refute