desmentir
verbCEFR B2
What does “desmentir” mean in English?
1.to disprove, to contradict
to disprove, to contradict (to factually refute a claim; los hechos desmienten la versión oficial)
2.to deny, to contradict
to deny, to contradict (desmentir una versión / desmentir que + subjunctive — refuting a claim or prior account)
Example sentences
Los datos del informe desmienten la afirmación de que el desempleo haya descendido este año.
The figures in the report disprove the claim that unemployment has fallen this year.
La ministra desmintió rotundamente cualquier vínculo entre las dos empresas implicadas.
The minister categorically denied any link between the two companies involved.
How to use it
Desmentir means to refute or disprove a claim by showing it false — stronger than negar (to deny) because it asserts evidence on the speaker's side. The subject is typically the evidence itself, not the person ('los hechos / los datos / los hallazgos desmienten X'), or the institutional voice ('el gobierno desmiente las acusaciones'). Use desmentir + N or desmentir que + indicative when the rebuttal is asserted; desmentir que + subjunctive when reporting someone else's denial of a claim. A B2-marked debate verb — at A2/B1, learners typically reach only for negar or no es verdad, which lose the evidentiary weight.
Common mistake
L1-English speakers calque 'deny' with negar, losing the evidentiary stance. Negar = refuse to acknowledge; desmentir = produce evidence against. Use desmentir when the rebuttal is data-backed; negar only for refusal to admit.