impugn

Advancedzipf 2.11

Pronunciation

/ɪmˈpjuːn/(im-PYOON)

Part of speech

verbformal

Chinese

质疑；抨击（对某人的品格或动机提出质疑）

Definition

To call into question the integrity or validity of something.

Word family

  • impugnment/ɪmˈpjuːnmənt/(n)质疑

Collocations

  • impugn someone's character
  • impugn motives
  • impugn integrity
  • impugn credibility

Examples

  1. 1.The lawyer attempted to impugn the witness's credibility. (challenge, cast doubt on)
  2. 2.I'm not trying to impugn your motives — I just want to understand. (question integrity)

Synonyms

  • challenge/ˈtʃælɪndʒ/— question, general
  • dispute/dɪˈspjuːt/— argue against
  • call into question (cast doubt on)

Etymology

from Latin "impugnare" = to attack — in- (against) + pugnare (to fight) — to fight against someone's reputation