gainsay
verb (used with object)
to deny, dispute, or contradict.
have gainsaid
-
present perfectof gainsay.present perfect
Used to describe actions that started in the past and continue into or have direct relevance to the present.
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.
I said not a word, however, for I would not have gainsaid mother in this journey, considering how much there was at stake.
From Fifty-Two Stories For Girls by Alfred H. (Alfred Henry) Miles
When Prescott wrote, there lived no man who could have gainsaid him.
From William Hickling Prescott by Harry Thurston Peck
For myself I usually prefer dark hair for women; but ah! who could have gainsaid the glory of those luxurious coils that hung over that sweet neck and draping the curving shoulders!
From The Four Canadian Highwaymen or, The Robbers of Markham Swamp by J. E. (Joseph Edmund) Collins
All these premises were so undeniably true that the passive Mrs. Lathrop could not have gainsaid them even had she been so disposed; which she wasn't.
From Susan Clegg and Her Love Affairs by Anne Warner
This thing Cliges, John, and Thessala would have gainsaid: but all those who were there would have interpreted it to their harm, if they had attempted to prevent it.
From Cliges; a romance by Laetitia Jane Gardiner
