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
Rollingnews