counterexample
Exception that disproves
A counterexample is a specific instance that disproves a general claim or rule.
If someone asserts that all swans are white, a black swan serves as a counterexample.
The term appears frequently in logic, mathematics, and argumentation: One counterexample is enough to refute a universal statement.
Finding counterexamples is a standard method for testing hypotheses.
Evidence showing falsehood
- rebuttalFormal response disputing claims
- falsificationDeliberate alteration of truth
- invalidationAct of nullifying
- negationDenial or cancellation
disconfirmation · debunking · refute · disprove · contradict · rebut · challenge · undermine
Opposing claims, incompatible together
- paradoxSeemingly absurd truth
- inconsistencyLack of steady pattern
- fallacyError in reasoning
- premiseFoundation for logical argument
hypothesis · theorem · proof · contraposition · deduction · inference · syllogism · predicate
Single occurrence of something
- caseContainer or instance
- specimenIndividual for examination
- sampleSubset for study
- demonstrationPublic display of opinion
scenario · anecdote · illustration · model · prototype · representation · depiction · exemplar
disproof
Evidence showing falsehood
- rebuttalFormal response disputing claims
- falsificationDeliberate alteration of truth
- invalidationAct of nullifying
negation · disconfirmation · debunking · refute · disprove · contradict · rebut · challenge · undermine · discredit
contradiction
Opposing claims, incompatible together
- paradoxSeemingly absurd truth
- inconsistencyLack of steady pattern
- fallacyError in reasoning
premise · hypothesis · theorem · proof · contraposition · deduction · inference · syllogism · predicate · proposition
instance
Single occurrence of something
demonstration · scenario · anecdote · illustration · model · prototype · representation · depiction · exemplar · analogy
- Exceptionsexception, exemption, exclusion, special case, anomaly
- reasoningreasoning, reason, logic, inference, deductive
- countercountertop, counterattack, counterpart, counteroffer, counterclaim
- objectionsobjection, complaint, protest, refutation, demur
- philosophyethics, logic, metaphysics, ontology, epistemology
- refutationdisproof, disproving, refutation, rebuttal, counterargument
counterexamplesupporting evidence
Facts validating a claim
proof · confirmation · corroboration · verification · validation
counterexampleverification
Proving something accurate
confirmation · theorem · lemma · corollary
counterexampleexample
Representative case shown
paradigm · exemplar · prototype · typical case · textbook example