denial

American  

[dih-nahy-uhl] / dɪˈnaɪ əl /

noun

denials plural

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

Derived Forms

• nondenial
  noun
• redenial
  noun
• predenial
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• denials
  plural

Etymology

Origin of denial

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

Explanation

A denial is a refusal, and often means a refusal to believe or accept something as the truth. "When asked if he ate the powdered doughnut, he gave a flat denial. Since his face was covered with powdered sugar, the denial was ludicrous." To be "in denial" is to be fooling yourself about the reality of your situation. If you stay up late watching TV on the eve of your AP Biology final, you are probably in denial about your lack of preparation for the test. Now, "self-denial is a whole other thing; that is when someone puts others first: "During the drought, Mary made sure all her neighbors had enough water and she lived in a state of self-denial — relying on Mountain Dew as her only source of hydration."

Example Sentences

In some decisions, the justices issued a statement not attached to either a grant or denial.

From Salon • Jul. 3, 2026

Rights groups also weighed in, describing the denial of access as "alarming" for media freedom in Turkey.

From Barron's • Jun. 25, 2026

Staff also reported "a culture of organisational denial" over years, where poor outcomes "were regularly dismissed as 'known complications".

From BBC • Jun. 24, 2026

Missi was in denial until Frank showed her the 40-foot flames on FaceTime.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 20, 2026

Mom said they did it because they were in denial, that they still felt so guilty about sending you away they needed to ignore what happened to you.

From "P.S. I Miss You" by Jen Petro-Roy

Related Words

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