denial

American  

[dih-nahy-uhl] / dɪˈnaɪ əl /

noun

• denials
  plural

1. 

   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

2. refusal to believe a doctrine, theory, or the like.

3. disbelief in the existence or reality of a thing.

4. the refusal to satisfy a claim, request, desire, etc., or the refusal of a person making it.

5. refusal to recognize or acknowledge; a disowning or disavowal.

   the traitor's denial of his country; Peter's denial of Christ.

6. 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.

7. sacrifice of one's own wants or needs; self-denial.

8. Psychology. an unconscious defense mechanism used to reduce anxiety by denying thoughts, feelings, or facts that are consciously intolerable.

---

denial British  

/ dɪˈnaɪəl /

noun

1. a refusal to agree or comply with a statement; contradiction

2. the rejection of the truth of a proposition, doctrine, etc

   a denial of God's existence

3. a negative reply; rejection of a request

4. a refusal to acknowledge; renunciation; disavowal

   a denial of one's leader

5. a psychological process by which painful truths are not admitted into an individual's consciousness See also defence mechanism

6. abstinence; self-denial

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nondenial
  noun
• redenial
  noun
• predenial
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• denials
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of denial

First recorded in 1520–30; deny + -al ²

---

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

denial denials

My own case of denial was mortifyingly textbook.

From Slate ● Nov. 11, 2026

Darren Lehmann, Australia coach at the time, has stuck to his story of denial, as has Mitchell Starc.

From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2026

When it was confirmed he had been taken prisoner of war, she was in denial.

From Barron's ● Nov. 9, 2026

District Judge David O. Carter — in his denial of the administration’s effort to block the California ballots — that the federal government already had a remedy of criminal prosecutions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026

Also almost at once, the Ethyl Corporation embarked on a policy of calm but unyielding denial that would serve it well for decades.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

After more details dribbled out, the denials became untenable.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 12, 2026

Despite the denials from Washington, many in Kyiv suspect the issues are not a coincidence.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

When patients and their doctors appealed those denials, insurance companies reversed roughly 80% of their initial decisions.

From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026

In all, the Interior Department denied 78 financial assistance requests from the Great Basin Institute totaling more than $12.7 million, according to a letter from Chief Executive Peter Woodruff appealing the denials.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

As she saw it, Jefferson’s denials only offered further evidence of his duplicity.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• disapproval
• rebuttal
• rejection
• repudiation
• retraction
• veto

---