controvert
Other forms: controverted; controverting; controverts
If you controvert something, you dispute it. If you argue for a new pony, your parents will controvert your argument by pointing out you said the same thing about the dog — the one they have to walk.
The verb controvert can mean to prove to be false or untrue. If you are a historian, you know that new evidence often controverts commonly-held beliefs, so history is constantly being revised and updated. Many children grew up learning that Christopher Columbus landed first in America, but now we have evidence to controvert that idea and other explorers such as Leif Eriksson beat Columbus to America.
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prove to be false or incorrect
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be resistant to
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synonyms:
contradict, oppose
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types:
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blackball, negative, veto
vote against; refuse to endorse; refuse to assent
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dissent, protest, resist
express opposition through action or words
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strike, walk out
stop work in order to press demands
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defeat, kill, shoot down, vote down, vote out
thwart the passage of
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demonstrate, march
march in protest; take part in a demonstration
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arise, rebel, rise, rise up
take part in a rebellion; renounce a former allegiance
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rebel, renegade
break with established customs
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Vocabulary lists containing controvert
Learn these words that contain the roots contra or counter, meaning "against" or "opposite."
Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy instantly loathe one another when they first meet. Can they overcome their first impressions? Read the full text here.
In this science fiction classic, a time traveler journeys to a future world in which humans have evolved into two groups: the docile Eloi and the fierce Morlocks. Read the full text here.