gainsay

[geyn-sey, geyn-sey]

See more synonyms for gainsay on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), gain·said, gain·say·ing.

to deny, dispute, or contradict.
to speak or act against; oppose.

Origin of gainsay

First recorded in 1250–1300, gainsay is from the Middle English word gainsaien. See again, say¹

Related formsgain·say·er, nounun·gain·said, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for gainsay

contravene, traverse, impugn, combat, disclaim, repudiate, refute, disagree, deny, fight, resist, controvert, oppose, negative, disprove, negate, cross, withstand, dispute, disaffirm

Examples from the Web for gainsay

Contemporary Examples of gainsay

But it will be a cost, and it will be large -- nobody can gainsay that.
You Still Can't Wish Away the Facts on Immigration Amnesty
David Frum
May 13, 2013
As long as the United States was the economic primus inter pares, those arguments were hard to gainsay.
Obama's G-20 Misfire
Zachary Karabell
November 11, 2010

Historical Examples of gainsay

After that it was fit that silence should again intervene, for I could not gainsay him.
In the Valley
Harold Frederic
I have my own roof, such as it is, and no one to gainsay me under it.
In the Valley
Harold Frederic
Arthur felt that he was, in some measure, and did not gainsay it.
The Channings
Mrs. Henry Wood
This fine deed was soon forgotten, and there are even people who gainsay it.
My Double Life
Sarah Bernhardt
After the invading army had retired, no one will gainsay the sound sense of his behaviour.
Agesilaus
Xenophon

British Dictionary definitions for gainsay

gainsay

verb -says, -saying or -said

(tr) archaic, or literary to deny (an allegation, a statement, etc); contradict

Derived Formsgainsayer, noun

Word Origin for gainsay

C13 gainsaien, from gain- against + saien to say 1

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 gainsay

"contradict," c.1300, literally "say against," from Old English gegn- "against" (see again) + say (v.). "Solitary survival of a once common prefix" [Weekley], which was used to form such now-obsolete compounds as gain-taking "taking back again," gainclap "a counterstroke," gainbuy "redeem," and gainstand "to oppose." Related: Gainsaid; gainsaying.