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 involvedb : 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 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 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
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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 of denial from the Web
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Some students may be in denial, but the first day of school for the 2017-2018 school year is just around the corner.
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Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also declined to say whether Trump accepted Putin’s denial.
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But aversion arising from fear is a form of denial, too.
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Whatever exactly happened at the meeting between Trump and Putin, the president’s Sunday morning Twitter storm confirms: Trump has accepted Putin’s denials as the final word on the matter.
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The next day, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus offered the more explicit denial that McMaster and Mnuchin wouldn’t.
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In the United States, by contrast, people from those nations have among the highest asylum denial rates — about 80 percent — according to an analysis by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.
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Darvish wasn’t in a state of denial after facing the media, despite his claims that bad luck did him in more than anything else.
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The measure approved is designed to enforce the country's existing limits on speech, including the long-standing ban on Holocaust denial.
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.
Origin and Etymology of denial
see deny
DENIAL Defined for English Language Learners
denial
playDefinition of denial for English Language Learners
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: a statement saying that something is not true or real : a statement in which someone denies something
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psychology : a condition in which someone will not admit that something sad, painful, etc., is true or real
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: the act of not allowing someone to have something
DENIAL Defined for Kids
denial
playDefinition of denial for Students
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
Medical Dictionary
denial
playMedical 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
Law Dictionary
denial
playLegal 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 2a, traverse Editor's 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 2 in this entry 2 : a denial of parts of an allegation in a complaint
Learn More about denial
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See words that rhyme with denial Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for denial Spanish Central: Translation of denial Nglish: Translation of denial for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of denial for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about denial
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