gainsay

American  

[geyn-sey, geyn-sey] / ˈgeɪnˌseɪ, geɪnˈseɪ /

verb (used with object)

gainsaid, gainsaying

1. to deny, dispute, or contradict.

2. to speak or act against; oppose.

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gainsay British  

/ ɡeɪnˈseɪ /

verb

1. archaic (tr) to deny (an allegation, a statement, etc); contradict

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Other Word Forms

• gainsayer noun
• ungainsaid adjective

Etymology

Origin of gainsay

First recorded in 1250–1300, gainsay is from the Middle English word gainsaien. See again, say ¹

Example Sentences

Since June, it’s been harder to gainsay him.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025

As an Episcopal priest, I’d be the last person to gainsay the importance of prayer.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 27, 2022

Although the movie doesn’t really position Jackson as a has-been, it also doesn’t forcefully gainsay the notion that the best thing he can do for Ally is get out of her way.

From Slate • Oct. 10, 2018

Why anyone would gainsay efforts as generous as Bilbao and, judging from photographs, the Vuitton museum, or would ambush, with a nasty question, the man who made them beggars comprehension.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 27, 2014

Within the ANC, party members J. B. Marks, Edwin Mofutsanyana, Dan Tloome, and David Bopape, among others, were devoted and hardworking, and left nothing to gainsay as freedom fighters.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela