Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
dictionary thesaurus view recents

deniability

noun
Save Word
de·​ni·​abil·​i·​ty | \ dē-ˌnī-ə-ˈbi-lə-tē How to pronounce deniability (audio) \

Definition of deniability

: the ability to deny something especially on the basis of being officially uninformed

Examples of deniability in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The plausible deniability is baked into the logic of campaigning. — Megan Garber, The Atlantic, "Sexism Is Other People," 8 Mar. 2020 The government accused the website of intentionally courting the prostitution business and working with pimps to alter the wording in advertisements to keep up a patina of deniability that Backpage knew what the ads were really for. — Richard Ruelas, The Arizona Republic, "COVID-19 concerns push Backpage trial into 2021; judge rules it can't be conducted safely," 30 June 2020 Fortunately, plausible deniability is becoming harder to sustain. — The Economist, "Black business matters," 12 June 2020 Instead Russia last year deployed mercenaries to back Hifter, achieving its strategic objectives under the convenient cloak of deniability. — Robyn Dixon, Washington Post, "Russia’s ally in Libya is battered by defeats. But Moscow has wider goals to expand its influence.," 6 June 2020 Plausible deniability is a common theme in modern political references to historical violence, particularly those on the right. — Parker Richards, The New Republic, "The Fall and Rise of the Guillotine," 12 June 2020 Juan Pablo then decides to absolutely ruin whatever modicum of deniability Chris left him by refusing to engage in the Bachelor’s horrorshow. — Ariana Romero, refinery29.com, "Juan Pablo’s Foolish Bachelor Finale Decisions Will Haunt Me (& Chris Harrison) Forever," 17 Apr. 2020 Juan Pablo then decides to absolutely ruin whatever modicum of deniability Chris left him by refusing to engage in the Bachelor’s horrorshow. — Ariana Romero, refinery29.com, "Juan Pablo’s Foolish Bachelor Finale Decisions Will Haunt Me (& Chris Harrison) Forever," 17 Apr. 2020 Iran’s leaders have avoided open warfare since, preferring the deniability and lower casualty rates offered by the use of covert operations and proxy forces. — Marc Champion, Bloomberg.com, "How Iran Pursues Its Interests Via Proxies and Partners," 10 May 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'deniability.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

See More

First Known Use of deniability

1973, in the meaning defined above

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about deniability

Time Traveler for deniability

Time Traveler

The first known use of deniability was in 1973

See more words from the same year

Statistics for deniability

Last Updated

14 Aug 2020

Cite this Entry

“Deniability.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deniability. Accessed 14 Aug. 2020.

Comments on deniability

What made you want to look up deniability? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

Show Comments  Hide Comments 

WORD OF THE DAY

quiescent

Listen to the pronunciation of quiescent

See Definitions and Examples »

Test Your Vocabulary

Name That Thing: Animal Edition

  • alt 5a023732e6f75
  • Name that animal:
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Dictionary Devil

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games