denial

noun

de·ni·al | \ di-ˈnī(-ə)l

, dē-\

Definition of denial

1 : refusal to satisfy a request or desire the denial of privileges

2a(1) : refusal to admit the truth or reality of something (such as a statement or charge) their denial of the divine right of kings

(2) : assertion that an allegation is false her denial that she was involved

b : refusal to acknowledge a person or a thing : disavowal his denial of his youngest son

3 law : the opposing by the defendant of an allegation (see allegation sense 2) of the opposite party in a lawsuit their denial of the plaintiff's allegations

4 : self-denial … a man in denial about his receding hairline. — Playboy

5 logic : negation sense 1b

6 psychology : a defense mechanism in which confrontation with a personal problem or with reality is avoided by denying the existence of the problem or reality

in denial

: refusing to admit the truth or reality of something unpleasant a patient in denial about his health problems

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about denial

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Examples of denial in a Sentence

She issued a flat denial of the charges made against her. The accusations have met with angry denials from school officials. The city government has been heavily criticized for its denial of the seriousness of the situation. The hardest part of the punishment was the denial of his right to see his children. The group is protesting the denial of voting rights to convicted felons. The lawyers were disappointed by the court's denial of their motion to dismiss the case.

Recent Examples on the Web

The denial comes more than a week after the city released Craddock’s two-sentence, emailed resignation letter. — Washington Post, "Virginia Beach tries to dispel “rumors” about mass shooting," 14 June 2019 Madigan instructed O’Brien to send the legal reason for the denial. — Adam Ferrise, cleveland.com, "Cuyahoga County, again, bungles public records request, this time for brutal jail beating video," 6 June 2019 During an interview on This Week, President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, softened the hardline denials Trump World has made about contacts with Russia during the 2016 campaign. — Aaron Rupar, Vox, "Trump’s lawyer isn’t exactly denying that Trump had foreknowledge of WikiLeaks dumps," 17 Dec. 2018 The Post said that largely stopped the passport denials until the Trump administration took over. — Alex Pappas, Fox News, "State Department pushes back on report about Hispanics being denied passports," 2 Oct. 2018 Needless to say, fans who are still a little bit in denial about the show's ending—and Khaleesi's fate, specifically—have come up with not one, but two theories about how the Mother of Dragons might still be alive. — Krystin Arneson, Glamour, "These Game of Thrones Fan Theories Suggest Daenerys Is Still Alive," 25 May 2019 Aya Cash is still in denial about the end of You're the Worst. — Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, "Fosse / Verdon's Aya Cash Talks About Joan Simon's Emotional Hospital Scene with Gwen Verdon," 1 May 2019 He was convicted again last week for Holocaust denial, a crime in France for decades that harkens back to the country’s history of surrendering French Jews to the occupying Nazis to be killed. — Lori Hinnant, The Seattle Times, "French yellow vest movement dogged by intolerance, extremism," 29 Jan. 2019 Bay Area Rapid Transit approved advertisements from a group that promotes Holocaust denials and anti-Semitic sentiments, citing the organization’s right to free speech. — Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, "San Francisco BART stations feature ads from Holocaust denial group," 12 Sep. 2018

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

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Dictionary Entries near denial

denial of the antecedent

denicotinize

denier

Statistics for denial

Last Updated

18 Jun 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for denial

The first known use of denial was in 1528

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More Definitions for denial

denial

noun

English Language Learners Definition of denial

: a statement saying that something is not true or real : a statement in which someone denies something

psychology : a condition in which someone will not admit that something sad, painful, etc., is true or real

: the act of not allowing someone to have something

See the full definition for denial in the English Language Learners Dictionary

denial

noun

de·ni·al | \ di-ˈnī-əl

Kids Definition of denial

1 : a refusal to give or agree to something asked for a denial of the request

2 : a refusal to admit the truth of a statement a denial of the accusation

3 : a refusal to accept or believe in someone or something He repeated his denial of the existence of ghosts.

4 : a cutting down or limiting a denial of his appetite

denial

noun

de·ni·al | \ di-ˈnī(-ə)l

Medical Definition of denial

: a psychological defense mechanism in which confrontation with a personal problem or with reality is avoided by denying the existence of the problem or reality

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denial

noun

de·ni·al | \ di-ˈnī-əl

Legal Definition of denial

1 : refusal to grant or allow something denial of due process denial of a motion

2a : an assertion that an allegation is false

b : a defense asserting that an opposing party's allegations are false — compare affirmative defense at defense sense 2a, traverse

Note: Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, allegations that are not denied are taken as admitted, and a statement that a party has insufficient knowledge or information to form a belief as to the truth of an allegation is taken as a denial. A denial must sufficiently state which allegations or parts of allegations are being denied.

— argumentative denial \ ˌär-gyə-ˈmen-tə-tiv- \

: a denial that asserts facts inconsistent with an allegation made by an adverse party

— general denial

1 : a denial of all the allegations in a complaint

2 : a denial of all the allegations of a particular paragraph or group of paragraphs in a complaint

— specific denial

1 : general denial in this entry

2 : a denial of parts of an allegation in a complaint