Definition

1. Verb:
   • To expose the falseness or exaggerated nature of something, often while ridiculing it: To show that a belief, claim, or idea is not true or is not as good as people think, typically by providing evidence or logical argument.

Examples of Usage

• Verb:
  • The journalist debunked the popular myth about the health benefits of that product.
  • Scientists have debunked the theory that the earth is flat.
  • His new book aims to debunk common misconceptions about history.

Advanced Usage

• "to debunk a myth": to prove a widely held but false belief is incorrect.
  • The documentary series debunks myths about ancient civilizations.
• "to debunk a claim": to show that a specific assertion is not true.
  • The fact-checking website quickly debunked the politician's claim.
• "to debunk an idea": to demonstrate that a concept or theory is flawed.
  • The professor's lecture debunked the idea that humans only use 10% of their brains.

Variants and Related Words

• Debunker (noun): a person who debunks something.
  • He is a well-known debunker of pseudoscientific claims.
• Debunking (noun/gerund): the act of exposing something as false.
  • The debunking of that conspiracy theory took years.

Synonyms

• Disprove: to show that something is false.
• Refute: to prove a statement or theory is wrong.
• Expose: to reveal the true, often unpleasant, nature of something.
• Discredit: to harm the reputation of someone or something, showing they are not reliable.

Related Phrases

• "to set the record straight": to provide the correct facts when wrong information has been given (a similar outcome to debunking, but less focused on ridicule).
  • The company issued a statement to set the record straight about the product's safety.

Verb

1. expose while ridiculing; especially of pretentious or false claims and ideas
   • The physicist debunked the psychic's claims