deniable

adjective

de·​ni·​able di-ˈnī-ə-bəl How to pronounce deniable (audio)
dē-
: capable of being denied

Examples of deniable in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The political motivations in civil and criminal lawsuits driven by Democrats against Donald Trump are not credibly deniable. Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 30 Jan. 2024 China’s maritime militia is hundreds of vessels strong and acts as an unofficial – and officially deniable – force that Beijing uses to push its territorial claims both in the South China Sea and beyond, according to the Philippines, the United States and Western marine security experts. Kathleen Magramo, CNN, 22 Aug. 2023 The Future is private weather, technological prophecy and highly deniable weapons. Sarah Yang, Sunset Magazine, 22 Sep. 2023 Western marine security experts believe Beijing controls a maritime militia hundreds of vessels strong that acts as an unofficial – and officially deniable – force to push its territorial claims both in the South China Sea and beyond. Shawn Deng, CNN, 9 Sep. 2023 And, when the Russian state needed a deniable shadow force of mercenaries, Wagner was born. Joshua Yaffa, The New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2023 Wagner operated for years as a deniable military force for the Kremlin, in Syria and across Africa. Patrick Reevell, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2023 India now collaborates with the United States on intelligence collection, the monitoring of Chinese military operations, and a range of other activities that are for the most part quiet and deniable. Ashley J. Tellis, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2020 Russia has relied on informal and deniable military forces since the Stalin era. Andrei Soldatov, Foreign Affairs, 12 May 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'deniable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1548, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of deniable was in 1548

Dictionary Entries Near deniable

Cite this Entry

“Deniable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deniable. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.

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