deny

de·ny

transitive verb \di-ˈnī, dē-\

de·niedde·ny·ing

Definition of DENY

1

: to declare untrue <deny an allegation>

2

: to refuse to admit or acknowledge : disavow <deny responsibility>

3

a : to give a negative answer to <denying the petitioners>

b : to refuse to grant <deny a request>

c : to restrain (oneself) from gratification of desires

4

archaic : decline

5

: to refuse to accept the existence, truth, or validity of

— de·ny·ing·ly \-ˈnī-iŋ-lē\ adverb

Examples of DENY

1. He denied the report that he would be quitting his job.
2. She denies all the charges that have been made against her.
3. The police deny that racism is a problem in the department.
4. Yes, I was there. I don't deny it.
5. The judge denied their request.
6. a government that denies its citizens basic freedoms

Origin of DENY

Middle English, from Anglo-French deneier, denier, from Latin denegare, from de- + negare to deny — more at negate

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to DENY

Synonyms

contradict, disaffirm, disallow, disavow, disclaim, disconfirm, disown, gainsay, negate, negative, refute, reject, repudiate

Antonyms

acknowledge, admit, allow, avow, concede, confirm, own

Related Words

traverse; challenge, confute, disprove, rebut; disagree (with), dispute

Near Antonyms

accept, adopt, embrace, espouse; affirm, announce, assert, aver, claim, declare, maintain, profess, submit; authenticate, corroborate, substantiate, validate, verify

Synonym Discussion of DENY

deny, gainsay, contradict, contravene mean to refuse to accept as true or valid. deny implies a firm refusal to accept as true, to grant or concede, or to acknowledge the existence or claims of <denied the charges>. gainsay implies disputing the truth of what another has said <no one can gainsay her claims>. contradict implies an open or flat denial <her account contradicts his>. contravene implies not so much an intentional opposition as some inherent incompatibility <laws that contravene tradition>.

Rhymes with DENY

aby, agley, air-dry, Alai, ally, Altai, anti, apply, assai, awry, aye-aye, Bacchae, Baha'i, banzai, barfly, bee fly, Belgae, belie, bigeye, big lie, black eye, blackfly, black tie, blow-dry, blowby, blowfly, blue-sky, Bo Hai, bone-dry, bonsai, botfly, Brunei, buckeye, bugeye, bye-bye, canaille, catchfly, cat's-eye, Chennai, chess pie, Chiang Mai, cockeye, cockshy, come by, comply, cow pie, crane fly, cross-eye, deadeye, decry, deep-fry, deep-sky, deerfly, defy, Delphi, descry, do by, dong quai, drip-dry, drop by, dry eye, dry fly, elhi, Eli, espy, face fly, firefly, fish-eye, flesh fly, flyby, fly high, forby, freeze-dry, frogeye, fruit fly, gadfly, gallfly, get by, GI, glass eye, go by, good-bye, greenfly, grisaille, gun-shy, Haggai, Hawkeye, heel fly, hereby, hi-fi, hog-tie, horn fly, horsefly, housefly, imply, jai alai, July, Karzai, Kasai, knee-high, lanai, Lanai, lay-by, lay by, Lehigh, let fly, Levi, lie by, magpie, mai tai, mao-tai, Masai, mayfly, medfly, mind's eye, Moirai, mooneye, Mumbai, my eye, nearby, necktie, nilgai, nisi, outbye, outcry, oxeye, pad thai, Panay, panfry, Parcae, piece-dye, pigsty, pinkeye, Po Hai, pop eye, pop fly, potpie, put by, Qinghai, quasi, rabbi, red-eye, rely, reply, rib eye, ride high, rocaille, rough-dry, run dry, Sakai, sand fly, sci-fi, screw eye, semi, Sendai, serai, set by, shanghai, Shanghai, sheep's eye, shoofly, shut-eye, Sinai, sky-high, small-fry, stand by, standby, stir-fry, string tie, supply, swear by, terai, test-fly, thereby, tie-dye, titi, tongue-tie, Transkei, twist tie, two-ply, untie, vat dye, Versailles, walleye, well-nigh, whereby, whitefly, wild rye, wise guy