deny

verb

de·ny | \ di-ˈnī

, dē-\

denied; denying

Definition of deny

transitive verb

1 : to declare untrue denied the allegation

2 : to refuse to admit or acknowledge : disavow denied responsibility for the vandalism

3a : to give a negative answer to denying the petitioners

b : to refuse to grant deny a request was denied a refund

c : to restrain (oneself) from gratification of desires deny himself the foods that he loves

4 archaic : decline

5 : to refuse to accept the existence, truth, or validity of There's no denying her expertise. You can't deny that he's a good singer.

Other Words from deny Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about deny

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Choose the Right Synonym for deny

deny, gainsay, contradict, contravene mean to refuse to accept as true or valid. deny implies a firm refusal to accept as true, to grant or concede, or to acknowledge the existence or claims of. denied the charges gainsay implies disputing the truth of what another has said. no one can gainsay her claims contradict implies an open or flat denial. her account contradicts his contravene implies not so much an intentional opposition as some inherent incompatibility. laws that contravene tradition

Examples of deny in a Sentence

He denied the report that he would be quitting his job. She denies all the charges that have been made against her. The police deny that racism is a problem in the department. Yes, I was there. I don't deny it. The judge denied their request. a government that denies its citizens basic freedoms

Recent Examples on the Web

There's no denying Game of Thrones fans everywhere are reeling after Sunday's especially devastating episode. — Kaleigh Fasanella, Allure, "The Best Twitter Reactions to Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth’s Sex Scene on Game of Thrones," 6 May 2019 Currently, Sapa Profiles has admitted to the fraud in general—over a time period ranging from 1996 to 2015—but denies specifically that this fraud led to the failure of the two rocket launches. — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "NASA Says Two of Its Rockets Failed Because of Metals Fraud," 1 May 2019 Last week, Trump reportedly told then CBP commissioner Kevin McAleenan (who has since stepped up to temporarily fill Nielsen’s role) that he would be pardoned if he was jailed for denying migrants the right to enter the U.S, according to CNN. — Teen Vogue, "How the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration Policies are Changing After Kirstjen Nielsen's Resignation," 18 Apr. 2019 For its part, USC has released a statement denying any wrongdoing. — Cady Drell, Marie Claire, "What Is the College Admissions Scandal? Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman Were Indicted," 15 Mar. 2019 Johnson and other council members were upset about being denied oversight of the plan — but that wasn’t on Amazon alone. — Shirin Ghaffary, Recode, "New York City council members railed against Amazon in the hope of renegotiating the HQ2 deal," 12 Dec. 2018 The Russian government denies involvement in hacking. — James Ellingworth, The Seattle Times, "Russia warms to controversial TUEs after doping scandals," 12 Apr. 2019 To date, Claire's has denied the presence of asbestos in its products. — Sarah Jacoby, SELF, "FDA Testing Finds Asbestos in 3 Claire's Products," 6 Mar. 2019 In a rare move, Kensington Palace has formally denied the claims, according to The Sun. — Kayleigh Roberts, Marie Claire, "Kensington Palace Officially Denies Rumors That Royal Baby Will Be Raised Gender Fluid," 3 Mar. 2019

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