denial

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 Brown said the change would allow prosecutors to request that defendants be held without bail and give judges the discretion to hold a hearing and determine if denial of bail is warranted. — Mike Cason | Mcason@al.com, al, "Alabama bail reform bill called Aniah’s Law advances in House," 19 Feb. 2020 In the ruling, the judge cited Perry's denial of the claim. — Sara M Moniuszko, USA TODAY, "Dr. Luke scores victory in legal battle with Kesha, singer to pay more than $373K," 7 Feb. 2020 But Obama's denial of clemency for Rubashkin helped motivate Trump to adopt the opposite view, two advisers said. — Author: Beth Reinhard, Anne Gearan, Anchorage Daily News, "Most clemency grants bypass Justice Department and go to well-connected offenders," 3 Feb. 2020 Vinsetta Garage sued Berkley in 2017, alleging unfair denials of its rezoning requests. — Bill Laitner, Detroit Free Press, "Vinsetta Garage restaurant, Berkley officials settle parking lawsuit," 24 Jan. 2020 Although few observers would have predicted it, whaling may end in Iceland not through denial of a permit but from lack of interest. — Joe Roman, The Conversation, "Iceland didn’t hunt any whales in 2019 – and public appetite for whale meat is fading," 21 Jan. 2020 The early attacks that the Iranian hacker groups carried out were what are called distributed denial of service, or DDoS, attacks. — Sophie Bushwick, Scientific American, "How Iran Can Still Use Cyber and Drone Technology to Attack the U.S.," 8 Jan. 2020 In 2012, in apparent retaliation against US sanctions, the country attacked Wall Street banks with denial of service attacks, knocking their websites offline. — Justin Rohrlich, Quartz, "Iran may retaliate with cyberattacks for Soleimani’s death," 3 Jan. 2020 Delay and denial of care drove a public and political rebellion. — Robert Geist, Twin Cities, "Robert Geist: Treatment for our malignant health-care market," 8 Dec. 2019

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

26 Feb 2020

Cite this Entry

“Denial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/denial. Accessed 26 Feb. 2020.

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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

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