refudiate

ref(ute) + (rep)udiate

Refudiate raises the question about what is really a word. The answer for new coinages is usually thrashed out gradually between the experts who record, guard, or teach the language and the rest of us who regularly use the language every day. Refudiate, however, clearly appears to be an accidental blend of refute and repudiate, rather than a deliberate coinage that fills a perceived need for a new word. Examples of this error go back to the late 19th century and recur from time to time. When, in 2010, controversial political figure Sarah Palin used the word in several interviews and on the social media service and website Twitter, it caused an uproar, and the online discussion about the word's validity went viral, but then quickly died down. The word remains generally unacceptable in formal writing.