deny
verb (used with object)
to state that (something declared or believed to be true) is not true.
had been denying
-
past perfect progressiveof deny.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
He said too many people had been "denying, downplaying, rationalising the horrors of the Holocaust".
From BBC ● May 7, 2024
This was the stuff of “America’s Funniest Home Videos” and “Ridiculousness” — my own algorithm had been denying me these goofball pleasures.
From New York Times ● Feb. 1, 2024
Medi-Cal had been denying claims because providers had treated patients in the field, not in hospitals or clinics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2023
Rizzo had been denying the story since the columnist Jack Anderson, who had a pre-publication copy of the book, had reported it a few months earlier.
From The New Yorker ● Jun. 17, 2015
For a year now they had been denying how I was changing, putting it down to the awkward age.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
