denial

American  

[dih-nahy-uhl] / dɪˈnaɪ əl /

noun

1. an assertion that something said, believed, alleged, etc., is false.

   Despite his denials, we knew he had taken the purse. The politician issued a denial of his opponent's charges.

   Synonyms:

   repudiation, disclaimer, disavowal

   Antonyms:

   confession, acknowledgment, admission

2. refusal to believe a doctrine, theory, or the like.

3. disbelief in the existence or reality of a thing.

4. the refusal to satisfy a claim, request, desire, etc., or the refusal of a person making it.

5. refusal to recognize or acknowledge; a disowning or disavowal.

   the traitor's denial of his country; Peter's denial of Christ.

6. Law. refusal to acknowledge the validity of a claim, suit, or the like; a plea that denies allegations of fact in an adversary's plea.

   Although she sued for libel, he entered a general denial.

7. sacrifice of one's own wants or needs; self-denial.

8. Psychology. an unconscious defense mechanism used to reduce anxiety by denying thoughts, feelings, or facts that are consciously intolerable.

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denial British  

/ dɪˈnaɪəl /

noun

1. a refusal to agree or comply with a statement; contradiction

2. the rejection of the truth of a proposition, doctrine, etc

   a denial of God's existence

3. a negative reply; rejection of a request

4. a refusal to acknowledge; renunciation; disavowal

   a denial of one's leader

5. a psychological process by which painful truths are not admitted into an individual's consciousness See also defence mechanism

6. abstinence; self-denial

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Other Word Forms

• nondenial noun
• predenial adjective
• redenial noun

Etymology

Origin of denial

First recorded in 1520–30; deny + -al ²

Example Sentences

There’s also the personal pain of realizing that your husband’s “love” may not be as advertised, making it easier to live in denial.

From Salon • Apr. 8, 2026

There was no immediate confirmation or denial from Washington.

From Barron's • Apr. 4, 2026

Called distributed denial of service, or DDoS, attacks, these were massive floods of junk internet data designed to knock websites offline by overwhelming the data pipes that connected them.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

In his statement, Mills does not address the substance of the allegations, provide any further detail about them or offer a denial.

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

Madu would not be in denial about a town that was about to fall, certainly not a town where Kainene lived.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Related Words

• disapproval
• rebuttal
• rejection
• repudiation
• retraction
• veto