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
Kieran Maguire, professor of football finance at the University of Liverpool, told BBC Sport it would be considered a "denial of an opportunity" by complainants.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
“There’s alarmingly high denial rates, and that is known by CMS,” said Lena Cohen, a staff technologist at EFF.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
She’s rejected the label several times before, but her recent conversation with “Call Her Daddy” podcaster Alex Cooper featured her strongest denial yet.
From Salon ● Sep. 12, 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
Flavio issued fierce denials as Lula took to the campaign trail clutching a statue of the saint, declaring that "messing" with her was "unacceptable."
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
Despite official denials, in Russian society there remains deep anxiety over the possibility of a new mobilisation.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
CMS has said it protects against inappropriate denials by linking vendors’ payments to quality scores that take into account the timeliness and accuracy of decisions.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
Pujo’s counsel, Samuel Untermyer, interrogated Morgan relentlessly, forcing the banker into transparently false denials.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
Even if we charitably explain their denials as due to the shortsightedness of the specialist and the man with an interest this does not mean we must accept them as qualified witnesses.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
