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.
-
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:
She saw Turkey's denial of the Israeli allegations as a way to dial down tensions.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Well, Tommy can do her hair but, by design, can never replace Mickey, and that conflict between Valerie and Tommy underlines her loss and her denial of Mickey’s passing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
In 2023, about 20% of Americans surveyed told the Commonwealth Fund that they or a family member had dealt with a prior-authorization denial or a claim denial in the previous year.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
Byrd and Roberts can still ask the First District Court of Appeal to review the denial of their Stand Your Ground motion before trial, through a petition for a writ of prohibition.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
His past failure to gain admission to both universities—the denial of his “right beginning”—had haunted him throughout his life.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
When these denials at last became untenable, they retreated to other lines of defense, such as libertarianism.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
On Sunday a Fifa spokesman repeated his denials of the allegations and added: "Under Mr Infantino, everything has always been done correctly."
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
US President Trump said Monday that negotiations were ongoing despite Tehran's denials.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
Executives have pointed to use by public-health workers and drug-discovery researchers who rely on OpenAI as reason to limit denials.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
The guards seemed to relish concocting variations of their denials.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
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.
