refuto

Refuto is the first-person singular present indicative form of the Latin verb refūtāre, meaning to refute or disprove. In classical Latin, refuto is commonly used to indicate that a speaker denies or denies the truth of a claim, argument, or proposition.

The verb belongs to the first conjugation. Its principal parts are refūtō, refutāre, refūtāvī, refūtātum. This allows the standard present active forms: refūtō, refutās, refūtāt, refūtāmus, refūtātis, refūtant. The imperfect is formed as refūtābam, refūtābās, refūtābat, refūtābāmus, refūtābātis, refūtābant, and the future as refūtābō, refūtābis, refūtābit, refūtābimus, refūtābitis, refūtābunt. The perfect uses the prefix refūtāvī and its compounds, e.g., refūtāvī, refūtāvistī, refūtāvit, etc.

Usage and context: refuto is employed in rhetorical, legal, and philosophical contexts to deny a stated proposition or to demonstrate that an argument is invalid. It often governs a direct object or introduces a subordinate clause that states the claim being denied, sometimes with quod or ut constructions in later Latin.

Related terms: refūtātiō (a refutation), refūtātor (the one who refutes). In other Romance languages, cognate verbs derived from refutare exist with similar meanings, such as Italian refutare or Spanish refutar.

Notes: While refūtō is classical Latin in spelling, in some texts the form without diacritics, refuto, appears in Latin dictionaries and educational materials. The concept remains central to argumentation and critical discourse.