refuté

Refutó is the third-person singular past tense form of the verb refutar in Spanish and Portuguese, meaning that someone or something refuted or disproved a claim or argument in the past. In Spanish, refutó corresponds to él/ella/usted refutó; in Portuguese, refutou corresponds to ele/ela/refutou (and you, formal, refutou). The term is commonly used in scholarly, legal, journalistic, and everyday contexts to indicate that a statement, hypothesis, or accusation was challenged and shown to be false or untrue.

Etymology and meaning: Refutar comes from Latin refutare, itself formed from re- (back, again) and fundere (to pour, to drive). The semantic core is to drive back or disprove an assertion. The past tense form refutó denotes a completed act of refuting or disproving.

Usage and nuances: Refutó signals a completed action in the past and is often used with objects such as theories, hypotheses, accusations, arguments, or claims. Related nouns include refutación (Spanish) and refutação (Portuguese), referring to the act or result of refuting. Synonyms include desmentir, contradizer, refutar (as a synonym verb form), and contestar.

Examples:

- Spanish: El científico refutó la hipótesis con datos nuevos.

- Portuguese: O cientista refutou a hipótese com dados novos.

- Portuguese: Ela refutou as acusações apresentadas pela imprensa.

See also: refutação (Portuguese), refutación (Spanish), refutar.

---