denial
Americannoun
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denials
plural
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an assertion that something said, believed, alleged, etc., is false.
Despite his denials, we knew he had taken the purse. The politician issued a denial of his opponent's charges.
- Synonyms:
- repudiation, disclaimer, disavowal
- Antonyms:
- confession, acknowledgment, admission
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refusal to believe a doctrine, theory, or the like.
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disbelief in the existence or reality of a thing.
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the refusal to satisfy a claim, request, desire, etc., or the refusal of a person making it.
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refusal to recognize or acknowledge; a disowning or disavowal.
the traitor's denial of his country; Peter's denial of Christ.
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Law. refusal to acknowledge the validity of a claim, suit, or the like; a plea that denies allegations of fact in an adversary's plea.
Although she sued for libel, he entered a general denial.
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sacrifice of one's own wants or needs; self-denial.
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Psychology. an unconscious defense mechanism used to reduce anxiety by denying thoughts, feelings, or facts that are consciously intolerable.
noun
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a refusal to agree or comply with a statement; contradiction
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the rejection of the truth of a proposition, doctrine, etc
a denial of God's existence
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a negative reply; rejection of a request
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a refusal to acknowledge; renunciation; disavowal
a denial of one's leader
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a psychological process by which painful truths are not admitted into an individual's consciousness See also defence mechanism
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abstinence; self-denial
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of denial
Explanation
A denial is a refusal, and often means a refusal to believe or accept something as the truth. "When asked if he ate the powdered doughnut, he gave a flat denial. Since his face was covered with powdered sugar, the denial was ludicrous." To be "in denial" is to be fooling yourself about the reality of your situation. If you stay up late watching TV on the eve of your AP Biology final, you are probably in denial about your lack of preparation for the test. Now, "self-denial is a whole other thing; that is when someone puts others first: "During the drought, Mary made sure all her neighbors had enough water and she lived in a state of self-denial — relying on Mountain Dew as her only source of hydration."
Vocabulary lists containing denial
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)
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Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
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Game Changer
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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.
See Examples For:
“This denial is not credible,” the firm wrote in the report.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
My first appeal went nowhere, and the denial letter didn’t cite a reason for the decision.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
"Any glorification of war criminals, genocide denial and revisionism contradict the most fundamental European values and have no place in the EU or in EU candidate countries," the statement said.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
Polestar has told the Commerce Department that the disparate treatment is contrary to law, but the company said it won’t appeal the denial.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Mom said they did it because they were in denial, that they still felt so guilty about sending you away they needed to ignore what happened to you.
From "P.S. I Miss You" by Jen Petro-Roy
According to KFF, only 1% of ACA-plan denials were appealed in 2024, up from a mere 0.2% in 2021.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
Morgan’s resolute denials pleased his family and friends, but in fact he was deeply rattled.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
The new evidence undermines Omar al-Bayoumi's 25 years of denials that he was an extremist and a Saudi spy.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center in Washington, said that U.S. denials of missile shortages aren’t surprising.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
My denials would be meaningless, the rantings of a stranger.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
