denialism

American  

[dih-nahy-uh-lizuhm] / dɪˈnaɪ əˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. to refuse to accept the existence, truth, or validity of something despite evidence or reasonable support for it.

   Her cynical embrace of election denialism was part of her campaign strategy rather than a reflection of sincerely held concern for ballot security.

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Usage

See denier ¹ ( def. ).

Etymology

Origin of denialism

First recorded in 1870–75; denial ( def. ) + -ism ( def. )

Example Sentences

And at its most abhorrent, “Riefenstahl” reveals a pernicious denialism too significant to ignore.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 12, 2025

I must have seen the same ProPublica report about the company’s aggressive claim denialism 10 times that day.

From Slate • May 14, 2025

"Right now, with denialism sadly on the rise, uncovering the whole truth is more important than ever."

From Reuters • Sep. 30, 2023

I'm not very interested in the surface details of this denialism.

From Salon • Jun. 30, 2023

At this writing, it’s hard to get a handle on how denialism fared, as witness two New York Times headlines that appeared online within hours of one another:

From Seattle Times • Nov. 14, 2022