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Glite Dictionary
to debunk

to debunk

57 5.7
To show that an idea or claim is false with clear facts
  • verb
  • /dɪˈbʌŋk/
translation icon : desmentir
  • And now we are gonna debunk a few magic myths this evening.
  • debunk myths
  • debunk popular myths
  • debunk the idea

But what I don't do is debunk crazy ideas.

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Examples

  • Scientists of the time, Benjamin Franklin and Antoine Lavozier among them, set out to debunk Mesmer's claims.

  • His research was crucial to debunk the misconceptions surrounding the ancient civilization.

  • But we can try our best to at least debunk the hypothesis.

  • Well, I hate to be the one to debunk the myth, but it's got to be done.

    Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie (2014)

  • I keep digging and trying to debunk my own theories.

    FLAGRANT

  • We're back to Views the podcast where today we're going to debunk one of the oldest tales.

  • And this information first came around Wednesday and this was quickly debunked by Thursday.

    Meet Kevin

  • How are you preparing students to debunk pseudoscience and to really serve the public?

  • That's what science is for, is to debunk the previous generations dogma.

    The Diary Of A CEO

  • The documentary aims to debunk common myths about climate change through scientific evidence.

Synonyms

to expose
vsto debunk
342 4.1

Reveal hidden facts or bad actions to people

uses that revealing to show pretension or exaggeration and prove falsity
to refute
vsto debunk
  • Formal
88 6.2

To show that an idea or statement is false using evidence

often stresses exposing pretension or exaggeration rather than only formal proof
to disprove
vsto debunk
66 4.5

To show that an idea or claim is not true

adds a public revealing of errors or pretensions beyond mere counterevidence
to belie
vsto debunk
26 8.6

Make a person or thing seem different from how they really are

is more direct in exposing exaggerated claims rather than only contradicting impressions
to rebut
vsto debunk
21 7.0

To say or show that a claim is wrong

is more about publicly revealing errors and exaggeration as part of rebuttal
to discredit
vsto debunk
16 5.6

To say that something is not true or trustworthy

goes further by publicly exposing errors and showing why it is false
to falsify
vsto debunk
12 7.2

To show that an idea or claim is not true

tends to highlight inflated or pretentious aspects when showing falsehood
to disconfirm
vsto debunk
1 7.4

To show by facts that an idea or belief is not true

often also points out misleading or pretentious parts of the claim
to confute
vsto debunk
  • Formal
9.9

To show a person's idea is wrong using facts or clear arguments

often focuses more on exposing exaggerated claims than on pure argument alone

Antonyms

to support
∞ 1.0

Give help to a person or idea

to validate
  • Formal
87 3.9

To make something officially acceptable by showing proof

How Disproven

to refute
  • Formal
88 6.2
to debunk
57 5.7
to discredit
66 6.3
to challenge
  • Formal
552 4.3
to question
777 3.5

Surface Forms

debunk infinitive
debunked past
debunked past participle
debunking present participle
debunks third person singular

Morphology

debunk = bunk (semi-transparent) = de + bunk

If a learner knows the informal noun 'bunk' meaning 'nonsense', the sense 'remove the nonsense from' is fairly inferable, but the exact meaning 'expose as false or exaggerated' is not fully predictable.

Etymology

Debunk comes from de- meaning 'remove' and bunk, which is short for bunkum and means 'nonsense'. So to debunk something is to 'remove the nonsense' and show it is not true or is exaggerated.