Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense debunks, present participle debunking, past tense, past participle debunked
verb
If you debunk a widely held belief, you show that it is false. If you debunk something that is widely admired, you show that it is not as good as people think it is.
Historian Michael Beschloss debunks a few myths. [VERB noun]
...the Frenchmen of the enlightenment who debunked the church and the crown. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: expose, show up, mock, ridicule More Synonyms of debunk
debunk in British English
(diːˈbʌŋk)
verb
(transitive) informal
to expose the pretensions or falseness of, esp by ridicule
Derived forms
debunker (deˈbunker)
noun
Word origin
C20: from de- + bunk2
debunk in American English
(diˈbʌŋk)
US
verb transitive
to expose the false or exaggerated claims, pretensions, glamour, etc. of
Word origin
de- + bunk1
Synonyms of 'debunk'
expose, show up, mock, ridicule
More Synonyms of debunk
(verb)
Definition
to expose the falseness of
(informal)
The men of the enlightenment who debunked the church and the crown.
Synonyms
expose
After the scandal was exposed, he moved abroad.
show up
mock
I thought you were mocking me.
ridicule
I admire her for allowing them to ridicule her.
puncture
a witty column which punctures celebrity egos
deflate
The vandals had deflated his car's tyres.
disparage
his tendency to disparage literature
lampoon
He was lampooned for his short stature and political views.
cut down to size
Additional synonyms
in the sense of deflate
Definition
to collapse or cause to collapse through the release of gas
The vandals had deflated his car's tyres.
Synonyms
puncture,
flatten,
empty
in the sense of disparage
Definition
to speak contemptuously of
his tendency to disparage literature
Synonyms
run down,
dismiss,
put down,
criticize,
underestimate,
discredit,
ridicule,
scorn,
minimize,
disdain,
undervalue,
deride,
slag (off) (slang),
knock (informal),
blast,
flame (informal),
rubbish (informal),
malign,
detract from,
denigrate,
belittle,
decry,
underrate,
vilify,
slander,
deprecate,
tear into (informal),
diss (slang),
throw shade (at) (slang),
defame,
bad-mouth (slang),
lambast(e),
traduce (formal),
derogate,
asperse
in the sense of lampoon
Definition
to ridicule and criticize (someone) in a lampoon
He was lampooned for his short stature and political views.