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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1) - Cite This Source
de‧bunk /dɪˈbʌŋk/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[di-buhngk] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–verb (used with object) to expose or excoriate (a claim, assertion, sentiment, etc.) as being pretentious, false, or exaggerated: to debunk advertising slogans.
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[Origin: 1920–25, American; de- + bunk2]
—Related forms
de‧bunk‧er, noun
—Synonyms disparage, ridicule, lampoon.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source de·bunk (d-bngk) Pronunciation Key
tr.v. de·bunked, de·bunk·ing, de·bunks
To expose or ridicule the falseness, sham, or exaggerated claims of: debunk a supposed miracle drug.
de·bunker n.
Word History: One can readily see that debunk is constructed from the prefix de-, meaning “to remove,” and the word bunk. But what is the origin of the word bunk, denoting the nonsense that is to be removed? Bunk came from a place where much bunk has originated, the United States Congress. During the 16th Congress (1819-1821) Felix Walker, a representative from western North Carolina whose district included Buncombe County, carried on with a dull speech in the face of protests by his colleagues. Walker later explained he had felt obligated “to make a speech for Buncombe.” Such a masterful symbol for empty talk could not be ignored by the speakers of the language, and Buncombe, spelled Bunkum in its first recorded appearance in 1828 and later shortened to bunk, became synonymous with claptrap. The response to all this bunk seems to have been delayed, for debunk is not recorded until 1923.
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Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
WordNet - Cite This Source
debunk
v : expose while ridiculing; especially of pretentious or false claims and ideas; "The physicist debunked the psychic's claims" [syn: expose]
WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University
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