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disallow

[dis-uh-lou]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to refuse to allow; reject; veto: to disallow a claim for compensation.
  2. to refuse to admit the truth or validity of: to disallow the veracity of a report.
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Origin of disallow

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Old French word desallouer. See dis-1, allow
Related formsdis·al·low·a·ble, adjectivedis·al·low·a·ble·ness, noundis·al·low·ance, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for disallowance

refusal, rejection, repudiation, turndown, ban, inhibition, interdiction, prohibition, restriction, taboo

Examples from the Web for disallowance

Historical Examples of disallowance

  • Owing to the disallowance of the Oaths Bill there was no report from the committee.

    The Canadian Portrait Gallery Volume 3

    John Charles Dent

  • The disallowance is published in Victoria on the 1st of May.

  • As to the disallowance of Colonial bills, see pp. 202-5, ante.

  • Then this statute was passed last year, of which we are now asking the disallowance, and I am going to speak of that briefly.

    Bilingualism

    N. A. Belcourt

  • The Two-penny Act was good and essential, and its disallowance was a breach of the contract.

    Give Me Liberty

    Thomas J. Wertenbaker

British Dictionary definitions for disallowance

disallow

verb (tr)
  1. to reject as untrue or invalid
  2. to cancel
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Derived Formsdisallowable, adjectivedisallowance, noun
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

Word Origin and History for disallowance

disallow

v.

late 14c., "to refuse to praise," from Old French desalouer "to blame," from des- (see dis-) + alouer (see allow); meaning "to reject" is from 1550s. Related: Disallowed; disallowing; disallowance.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper