Deny Definition & Meaning

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    • Synonyms deny American [dih-nahy] / dɪˈnaɪ /

    verb (used with object)

    denied, denying

    1. to state that (something declared or believed to be true) is not true.

      to deny an accusation.

      Synonyms: gainsay, oppose, controvert, dispute Antonyms: concede, accept, admit

    2. to refuse to agree or accede to.

      to deny a petition.

    3. to withhold the possession, use, or enjoyment of.

      to deny access to secret information.

      Antonyms: allow

    4. to withhold something from, or refuse to grant a request of.

      to deny a beggar.

    5. to refuse to recognize or acknowledge; disown; disavow; repudiate.

      to deny one's gods.

      Synonyms: abjure, renounce

    6. to withhold (someone) from accessibility to a visitor.

      The secretary denied his employer to all those without appointments.

    7. Obsolete. to refuse to take or accept.

    idioms

    1. deny oneself, to refrain from satisfying one's desires or needs; practice self-denial.

    deny British / dɪˈnaɪ /

    verb

    1. to declare (an assertion, statement, etc) to be untrue

      he denied that he had killed her

    2. to reject as false; refuse to accept or believe

    3. to withhold; refuse to give

    4. to refuse to fulfil the requests or expectations of

      it is hard to deny a child

    5. to refuse to acknowledge or recognize; disown; disavow

      the baron denied his wicked son

    6. to refuse (oneself) things desired

    "Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

    Related Words

    Deny, contradict both imply objecting to or arguing against something. To deny is to say that something is not true: to deny an allegation. To contradict is to declare that the contrary is true: to contradict a statement.

    Other Word Forms

    • denyingly adverb
    • predeny verb (used with object)
    • redeny verb (used with object)

    Etymology

    Origin of deny

    First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English denien, from Old French denier, from Latin dēnegāre; denegation

    Example Sentences

    Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

    An Egyptian court denied on Thursday the appeal of a prominent economist seeking to overturn his five-year prison sentence for disseminating "fake news", according to one of his lawyers.

    From Barron's

    The opposite happened: Suppressing deception caused models to report consciousness 96% of the time, while amplifying it caused them to deny consciousness and revert to corporate disclaimers.

    From The Wall Street Journal

    The brothers, who became eligible for parole but were denied it in 2025, have been in prison ever since.

    From Salon

    Hasina, who was put on trial in absentia, has denied committing crimes against humanity.

    From BBC

    Ian Paul, a conservative theologian and a member of the General Synod, denies that this amounted to "strong-arm tactics".

    From BBC

    Related Words

    • ban
    • call on
    • contradict
    • oppose
    • rebuff
    • refuse
    • refute
    • reject
    • revoke
    • turn down
    • withhold

    Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

    Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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