deny

[ dih-nahy ]
See synonyms for: denydenieddenying on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),de·nied, de·ny·ing.
  1. to state that (something declared or believed to be true) is not true: to deny an accusation.

  2. to refuse to agree or accede to: to deny a petition.

  1. to withhold the possession, use, or enjoyment of: to deny access to secret information.

  2. to withhold something from, or refuse to grant a request of: to deny a beggar.

  3. to refuse to recognize or acknowledge; disown; disavow; repudiate: to deny one's gods.

  4. to withhold (someone) from accessibility to a visitor: The secretary denied his employer to all those without appointments.

  5. Obsolete. to refuse to take or accept.

Idioms about deny

  1. deny oneself, to refrain from satisfying one's desires or needs; practice self-denial.

Origin of deny

1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English denien, from Old French denier, from Latin dēnegāre; see denegation

synonym study For deny

1. Deny, contradict both imply objecting to or arguing against something. To deny is to say that something is not true: to deny an allegation. To contradict is to declare that the contrary is true: to contradict a statement.

Other words for deny

Opposites for deny

Other words from deny

  • de·ny·ing·ly, adverb
  • pre·de·ny, verb (used with object), pre·de·nied, pre·de·ny·ing.
  • re·de·ny, verb (used with object), re·de·nied, re·de·ny·ing.

Words that may be confused with deny

Words Nearby deny

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use deny in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for deny

deny

/ (dɪˈnaɪ) /


verb-nies, -nying or -nied (tr)
  1. to declare (an assertion, statement, etc) to be untrue: he denied that he had killed her

  2. to reject as false; refuse to accept or believe

  1. to withhold; refuse to give

  2. to refuse to fulfil the requests or expectations of: it is hard to deny a child

  3. to refuse to acknowledge or recognize; disown; disavow: the baron denied his wicked son

  4. to refuse (oneself) things desired

Origin of deny

1
C13: from Old French denier, from Latin dēnegāre, from negāre

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012