denial
Americannoun
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denials
plural
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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
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refusal to believe a doctrine, theory, or the like.
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disbelief in the existence or reality of a thing.
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the refusal to satisfy a claim, request, desire, etc., or the refusal of a person making it.
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refusal to recognize or acknowledge; a disowning or disavowal.
the traitor's denial of his country; Peter's denial of Christ.
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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.
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sacrifice of one's own wants or needs; self-denial.
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Psychology. an unconscious defense mechanism used to reduce anxiety by denying thoughts, feelings, or facts that are consciously intolerable.
noun
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a refusal to agree or comply with a statement; contradiction
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the rejection of the truth of a proposition, doctrine, etc
a denial of God's existence
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a negative reply; rejection of a request
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a refusal to acknowledge; renunciation; disavowal
a denial of one's leader
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a psychological process by which painful truths are not admitted into an individual's consciousness See also defence mechanism
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abstinence; self-denial
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of denial
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."
Vocabulary lists containing denial
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)
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Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
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Game Changer
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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.
See Examples For:
His strategy of flat-out denial has also left him open to accusations of lying.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
"I think a lot of parents are in denial about what their young children are up to," added Ticehurst.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Knight from 1977, the court ruled that the denial of a press pass implicated a First Amendment liberty interest.
From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2026
Previously, there was no fixed time limit for visa denial, though the government had the power to block entry, said BZW Law Firm’s Peng.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
At the same time, the Academy seemed to embrace an institutional denial that what we were being taught to do had a moral aspect.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
In all, the Interior Department denied 78 financial assistance requests from the Great Basin Institute totaling more than $12.7 million, according to a letter from Chief Executive Peter Woodruff appealing the denials.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
EFF is seeking more details from CMS, such as how often denials were reversed on appeal, how the AI systems were trained and how they were tested to protect from bias, Cohen said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
The judge said that under the new rules, DHS denials of visa extensions would be "entirely discretionary and unappealable."
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
Both patients and doctors complain about denials and delays in the process.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Despite the USIA’s denials, it was now up to the legal system to review the investigations into the disaster.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
