Disagreeing Strongly

That is just not true!

This page lists useful expressions for the language function of disagreeing strongly.

Elementary

  1. I (really) don’t think so.
  2. I (strongly) disagree.
  3. I don’t/can’t agree.
  4. That’s not right.

Pre-intermediate

  1. Absolutely not.
  2. Do you really believe/think that (...)?
  3. I don’t agree at all.
  4. I totally disagree.
  5. That makes no sense (to me).
  6. That’s (totally) wrong.

Intermediate

  1. I can’t accept that.
  2. I’m surprised that you would say that.
  3. Nonsense!
  4. Ridiculous!
  5. Rubbish!
  6. That is just not true/right.
  7. There is no way I can accept that.
  8. You don’t really think that, do you?
  9. You must be joking.

Upper-intermediate

  1. (I think) you are mistaken.
  2. Are you honestly/seriously saying...?
  3. Are you out of your mind?
  4. Are you pulling my leg?
  5. Does anyone (seriously) think that nowadays?
  6. I can’t see any (possible) reason why...
  7. I’m sure you’re (just) saying that to shock me.
  8. I’ve never heard such rubbish/nonsense!
  9. It has been proven that...
  10. That can’t possibly be the case.
  11. That is clearly/simply not true.
  12. That’s clearly/simply not the case.
  13. That’s not the case at all.
  14. The (first) problem with that argument is...
  15. The argument that... is not supported by...
  16. There is no way...
  17. You cannot be serious.
  18. You claim that...but...
  19. You’ve got to be kidding.

Advanced

  1. (You may as well) stop right there.
  2. Are you having a laugh/having me on?
  3. Are you on something?
  4. Do you genuinely believe that?
  5. For someone with your background, perhaps, but for the rest of us...
  6. I can see no merit in that view at all.
  7. I can’t go along with that.
  8. I completely fail to see the logic in...
  9. I don’t know what world you live in, but...
  10. I find that very difficult to accept.
  11. I nearly swallowed that, but...
  12. I’ve never heard such complete and utter rubbish.
  13. In what way does...make sense?
  14. In your dreams!
  15. Isn’t that a bit of a jump (in logic)?
  16. It doesn’t seem possible that you could really think that...
  17. It’s rather naïve to believe...
  18. Keeping talking.
  19. Life would be much easier if that were true, but...
  20. Quite the opposite! ...
  21. Seriously?
  22. That is a fallacy.
  23. That is an old wives’ tale.
  24. That is far from true.
  25. That is so not true.
  26. That’s a dangerous argument that could lead to...
  27. That’s a facetious argument.
  28. That’s a joke, right?
  29. That’s quite simply not the case.
  30. The argument that... is contradicted by...
  31. The first of many problems with that argument is...
  32. The uninitiated might think that, but...
  33. There’s no way on earth...
  34. Tosh!
  35. Yeah, right.
  36. You can’t say that!
  37. You think?
  38. You’re attacking a straw man.
  39. You’re living in a dream world.
  40. You’ve got (totally) the wrong end of the stick.
  41. Your argument is full of holes. For example, ...