disconfirmatory.

Weighing against or testing for a failure of a claim, prediction or expectation.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• disconfirmatory evidence
• disconfirmatory test

On the page

Disconfirmatory evidence required the researchers to reconsider the proposed mechanism.

A disconfirmatory test was designed to reveal a result inconsistent with the prediction.

Usage notes

Primary category: analysis / argumentation / evidence. Forms: Relational adjective; ordinary comparison applies only to the strength of contrary support. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: counterevidence assessment, argument critique, qualified assertion, formal disagreement. Disciplines: argumentation, research interpretation, social analysis. Commonness: uncommon.