deny
Americanverb (used with object)
-
denies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
denied,
past participle, past
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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
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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:
The following day, lawyers for She’s Alive asked the court to deny this motion, arguing that Seaver “attempted to evade service of process” and that the “court should not reward that behavior.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
Treasury press office declined to deny any of the details of the article.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
Both the company and the four men deny the charges.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
A spokesperson for the agency later added that state statute does not allow them to deny a private school application, but they won’t process an incomplete application — notably one without the proper inspections.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
But they could not deny that two thousand pregnant BDM girls applied for support from the National Socialist People’s Relief Administration.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Cornell denies that this was the only punishment it handed down.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
City denies any wrongdoing and has launched a formal appeal, which could delay any punishment by months.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
The LFI strongly denies doing anything more than lending its natural support to a movement it regards as legitimate.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
Le Pen denies wrongdoing and has appealed the ruling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
“Of course, he denies having anything besides what he took to the pawnshop. He claims the jewelry belonged to his grandmother. ‘Nothing wrong with pawning what’s mine,’ he said.
From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk
Maduro has denied the charges he originally faced: "narco-terrorism" conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices as well as conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Since then, the four Australia bowlers who played in that match, including Cummins, have denied they had any prior knowledge of the plan to cheat.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
But Homan denied wrongdoing and the Justice Department closed the case after Trump took office.
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026
All of the Cornell Seven have denied wrongdoing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
Since then, and for many years after, Jefferson’s family members, his biographers, and other defenders denied that Jefferson was the father of Sally’s children.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Xu did not respond to the BBC's request for comment, but has posted online denying he broke the competition rules.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
South Korea's presidential office has demanded an apology from Ukraine for denying an agreement to keep the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to Seoul confidential.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
Seaver provided a statement to ABC News denying the allegations, saying “I’ve never threatened anyone.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026
Nevertheless, there’s no denying that the star of the movie is indeed Odin and he’s a very, very good boy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
Three days later, the Supreme Court rejected the appeal, denying them the right to habeas corpus.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
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.
