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Garda Commissioner Noirin O’Sullivan

Nóirín O’Sullivan claims she has repeatedly refuted the allegations made against her. She has done nothing of the sort. To refute something means to prove it to be untrue. The word she should have used is reject; but sure, refute sounds fancier and who knows what it means anyway? Except that if refute becomes just another synonym for reject, we will have no word to describe actual refutations.
Yours, etc,
Jonivar Skullerad,
Sandymount, Dublin 4

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38 thoughts on “Refutation”

          2. And Social Justice For All

            Actually you’re a boring cringeworthy attention seeking idiot. It’s about getting it right see?

  2. Ivor

    This is a pet hate of mine. We would love it if she’d refuted the relevant accusations. She’s just denied them. If refuting and denying were the same thing, there would be fewer people in prison.

    3. classter

      You’re wrong, Ivor & so is Jonivar.

      Almost every dicitionary gives as one meaniong of refute, to ‘deny or contradict (a statement or accusation).’

      Maybe this used not be true, but it is now.

      Language changes. Tremendous used to mean ‘awful, dreadful, terrible’. Get over it.

      1. Kieran NYC

        +1

        “Awful” used to mean filling you with awe

        If that word can get a 180 turnaround, I think ‘refute’ is small beans

  4. ironcorona

    I for one didn’t know that refute and deny meant different things.

    I think this is a fairly common mistake and not an attempt to mislead.

      2. ironcorona

        To me, refuting and denying hold the same weight. I didn’t perceive her to be any more or less guilty by using refute and not deny. I suspect this is the common case but as I said I didn’t realise there was a difference.

    2. classter

      It ain’t a mistake.

      Or at least, if it was a mistake, it has happened so often that it is no longer consider to be a mistake.

  5. Sheik Yahbouti

    Those of us who can speak the English language are sick of bogus ‘refutations’ which are nothing of the sort – and ‘fulsome praise. Refute these allegations Ms O’Sullivan – if you can.

  8. read twice

    Thanks, Jonivar, for getting to the nub of the issue.

    I think our politicians need to call on Noirin to apologise* for her misuse of the word ‘refute’. We can then all move on with running the country and put this whole McCabe-refute scandal behind us.

    * Given the gravity of the situation, nothing less than a fulsome apology will do, in relation to these very serious allegations. Obviously.

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