rə̇ˈbət, -rēˈ-, usu -əd.+V verb
( rebutted ; rebutted ; rebutting ; rebuts )
Etymology: Middle English rebuten, from Old French reboter, from re- + boter to butt, thrust — more at butt
transitive verb
1.
a. : to drive or beat back : repulse
this mare … took no interest in the horse and … she did not rebut him either — Henry Wynmalen
b. : to check the advance or influence of : repel
luckily a few pictures in the house to rebut a despairing mood — Sacheverell Sitwell
2.
a. : to contradict, meet, or oppose by formal legal argument, plea, or countervailing proof
where evidence is offered to rebut presumption against suicide, presumption disappears — Detroit Law Journal
b. : to expose the falsity of : contradict , refute
rebut my contention that something cannot be done by doing it — F.H.Cleobury
in her first sentence she rebuts the long-accepted dictum that Africa is a continent without a history — D.H.Jones
intransitive verb
: to make or put in an answer or counter proof (as to a plaintiff's surrejoinder) : make a rebuttal
Synonyms: see disprove