elenctic UK /ɨˈlɛŋktɪk/US /əˈlɛŋk.tɪk/ adjective1 •Serving to refute, refutative, especially as part of a systematic interrogation; pertaining to rhetorical elenchus or cross-examination.‘What lady?’ he asked in the elenctic tones of Lewis Carroll's caterpillar. — 1941 formsmore elenctic · most elenctic