denial

[dih-nahy-uhl]

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.

denial

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• nondenial noun
• predenial adjective
• redenial noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of denial¹

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

Example Sentences

His second son would later go with his father’s friend to the ICE facility in Dallas to collect his belongings, obtaining the green card denial letter and detention notice dated Sept. 22 in the process.

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“There is an absolute, driving need to be able to operate with complete denial of GPS.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

This isn’t a denial of infertility’s heartbreak or a dismissal of would-be parents’ longing to nurture.

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Major nonprofit hospital systems like HealthPartners have already left UnitedHealth’s network, citing denial rates up to 10 times higher than other insurers they work with.

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I didn’t want to believe it because I was in denial.

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Related Words

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