Irrefragable

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ɪˈɹɛfɹəɡəb(É™)l/

Origin

16th century. From Latin irrefrāgābilis, from refrāgor ("oppose, contest").

Full definition of irrefragable

Adjective

1. Which cannot be refuted; indisputable, clearly right, incontrovertible.
• 1885, Charlotte M. Yonge, Nuttie's Father, ch. 20:Bulfinch, a solicitor at Redcastle, came to him with irrefragable proofs of gross peculation on the part of the bailiff.
• 1913, Jack London, John Barleycorn, ch. 19:We didn't. That is the irrefragable fact. We didn't.
• 2001 Jan. 14, Harold Evans, "Bookend: White House Book Club," New York Times (retrieved 18 Nov 2012)Lionel Trilling has cautioned us that an idea derived from reading is not a unitary, irrefragable thing but something modified in its transmission.

Synonyms

• (which cannot be refuted) incontestable, incontrovertible, indisputable, indubitable, irrefutable, unanswerable, undeniable, unquestionable

Related terms

• irrefragability
• irrefragably
• refragable