counterexample

counterexample means an example that counters a general rule; an exception to a general rule; a specific instance of the falsity of (and falsifiability of) any proposed universal applicability of a rule or statement.

Why “counterexample” is a great word

An example that disproves a statement or shows that a generalization is not universally true. From the prefix counter- (meaning "against" or "opposite") + example (from Latin exemplum, "sample, pattern"). Unlike an "exception," a mere deviation from a rule, or a "paradigm," the very model of a pattern, a counterexample is a targeted refutation, a singular fact deployed with the quiet force of a skeleton key. It is the one black swan that undoes a theory of whiteness, the sober guest at a drunken revel, or the single note of perfect dissonance that collapses a harmonic rule—the small, stubborn fact that refuses to kneel before theory, a testament to the world's stubborn refusal to be neatly contained by any human idea.

Etymology

From counter- + example.

noun

An example that counters a general rule; an exception to a general rule; a specific instance of the falsity of (and falsifiability of) any proposed universal applicability of a rule or statement.

Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Words closest in meaning

By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.

counterexemplary 77% match — Serving as a counterexample. vs counterexample →
counterexemplar 75% match — Synonym of counterexample. vs counterexample →
counterexemplify 74% match — To serve as a counterexample to; to disprove. vs counterexample →
counterinstance 72% match — An instance (example) which shows the opposite of a given theory to be true, thus disproving it. vs counterexample →
counterevidence 65% match — Evidence which tends to disprove a claim or hypothesis. vs counterexample →
countermodel 65% match — A conceptual model that describes an alternative possibility to that suggested by an existing model. vs counterexample →
counterformula 65% match — A formula that counters or goes against another formula. vs counterexample →
countercause 64% match — A cause that opposes or counteracts another cause. vs counterexample →