debunk

debunk
verb
de·;bunk (;)d;-;b;;k
debunked; debunking; debunks
Synonyms of debunk
transitive verb

: to expose the sham (see sham entry 1 sense 2) or falseness of
debunk a legend
debunker noun


Did you know?
To debunk something is to take the bunk out of it—that bunk being nonsense. (Bunk is short for the synonymous bunkum, which has political origins.) Debunk has been in use since at least the 1920s, and it contrasts with synonyms like disprove and rebut by suggesting that something is not merely untrue but is also a sham—a trick meant to deceive. One can simply disprove a myth, but if it is debunked, the implication is that the myth was a grossly exaggerated or foolish claim.

Synonyms
refute
Examples of debunk in a Sentence
The article debunks the notion that life exists on Mars.
The results of the study debunk his theory.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The claims were debunked by official sources.
—Laura Daniella Sepulveda, AZCentral.com, 6 Sep. 2025
What’s more in overturning Thompson’s theory, the team also debunked another widespread misconception.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 5 Sep. 2025
Kennedy has promised that, with a report assembled in a few short months, HHS will soon end the years-long debate on the drivers of autism—which Kennedy has repeatedly and baselessly linked to vaccines, despite decades of evidence debunking that claim.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 2025
However, at the time, his campaign's senior adviser, Jason Miller, shared a tweet seemingly debunking the rumors.
—Angel Saunders, People.com, 2 Sep. 2025

Word History
First Known Use
1923, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of debunk was in 1923
See more words from the same year