deny
Americanverb (used with object)
-
denies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
denied,
past participle, past
-
denying
present participle
-
to state that (something declared or believed to be true) is not true.
to deny an accusation.
- Synonyms:
- gainsay, oppose, controvert, dispute
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to refuse to agree or accede to.
to deny a petition.
-
to withhold the possession, use, or enjoyment of.
to deny access to secret information.
- Antonyms:
- allow
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to withhold something from, or refuse to grant a request of.
to deny a beggar.
-
to refuse to recognize or acknowledge; disown; disavow; repudiate.
to deny one's gods.
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to withhold (someone) from accessibility to a visitor.
The secretary denied his employer to all those without appointments.
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Obsolete. to refuse to take or accept.
idioms
verb
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to declare (an assertion, statement, etc) to be untrue
he denied that he had killed her
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to reject as false; refuse to accept or believe
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to withhold; refuse to give
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to refuse to fulfil the requests or expectations of
it is hard to deny a child
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to refuse to acknowledge or recognize; disown; disavow
the baron denied his wicked son
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to refuse (oneself) things desired
Synonym Usage
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 Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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denysimple
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deniessimple
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have deniedperfect
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has deniedperfect
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am denyingprogressive
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are denyingprogressive
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is denyingprogressive
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have been denyingperfect progressive
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has been denyingperfect progressive
Past
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deniedsimple
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had deniedperfect
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was denyingprogressive
-
were denyingprogressive
-
had been denyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of deny
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English denien, from Old French denier, from Latin dēnegāre; see denegation
Explanation
To deny means refuse to accept, recognize, or believe. You can deny your sweet tooth all you want, but the stash of candy in your desk tells a different story. It's hard to deny what etymologists have proven: deny is rooted in the Latin word denegare, which means “to deny, reject, refuse.” You can deny yourself of chocolate if you're on a diet, or deny the accusations that you're a chocoholic. But it's usually best to fess up. Abraham Lincoln famously admitted: “I never did like to work, and I don't deny it. I'd rather read, tell stories, crack jokes, talk, laugh — anything but work."
Vocabulary lists containing deny
"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act II
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The Watsons Go to Birmingham
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19th Amendment (1920)
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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:
Meta doesn't deny that some users, including teens, have negative experiences on its two core apps, but the company maintains it created features to reduce those risks.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Nevertheless, he does not deny that Flock has been misused by members of law enforcement.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
“People might think ... prediction markets are a good thing or a bad thing,” Romero said, “but you can’t deny that it is one more thing that could potentially be manipulated.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
No investor is immune, and in my experience the most vulnerable are those who deny that their moods play any role.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
It also made it easier to deny or ignore their suffering.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing the attack, which Islamabad denies.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
“Mr. Kubasik categorically denies that he had a relationship with a subordinate and denies that any such allegation was the basis for the negotiated separation agreement,” according to a statement provided by a spokesman.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Firdevs denies any wrongdoing and neither Alpturk or Hodson have responded to our questions.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Miller denies any wrongdoing, claims his ex-wife has struggled with “significant mental health challenges,” and has accused his former father-in-law of spreading “lies.”
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026
At nearby Arriaga, the chief of the judicial police, or Agenda Federal de Investigation, denies that his agents stop trains in San Ramon and rob migrants.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
Arday denied the plagiarism allegations, resigned from his professorship at Cambridge, and was found dead last week.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
He made the same request last July, which was denied.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Judicial officials told the BBC that Issa denied the charges during his arrest.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Abbott’s appeal to the 2024 verdict was denied.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Leah was the only sister who never denied their existence.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Claims closed without payment don’t mean insurers are wrongfully denying claims.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
"We have to face up to the changing climate ... there's no point denying where we are. We need to face up to it. We need more clean energy."
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
There is no denying, however, that the energy sector has been regrouping and forming a technical base largely over the last four months, he said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
In his initial livestream denying the allegations, he not only exhibited an odd demeanor, but he also falsely insisted that every accusation could be “traced back to a single source, my former wife.”
From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026
“Trying to control what cannot be controlled. I am tired of denying myself what I want for fear of breaking things I cannot fix. They will break no matter what we do.”
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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.
