disallow

verb

dis·​al·​low ˌdis-ə-ˈlau̇ 

disallowed; disallowing; disallows

transitive verb

1

: to deny the force, truth, or validity of

2

: to refuse to allow

disallowance

ˌdis-ə-ˈlau̇-ən(t)s 

noun

Synonyms

• contradict
• deny
• disaffirm
• disavow
• disclaim
• disconfirm
• disown
• gainsay
• negate
• negative
• refute
• reject
• repudiate

Examples of disallow in a Sentence

The touchdown was disallowed because of a penalty.

disallowing the philosophical concept of free will

Recent Examples on the Web

Though replays clearly showed the puck going over the line, the goal was disallowed because the whistle had blown. —John Wawrow, Chicago Tribune, 13 Apr. 2025

The Spaniards scored, only for the finish to be disallowed for offside. —Phil Hay, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2025

What To Know While crowd-funding sites like GoFundMe have disallowed any fundraisers to be set up to financially benefit Mangione and/or his legal efforts, other sites like GiveSendGo have remained up and running. —Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Apr. 2025

The bottom line was the premiums paid by STW to CSI were not an ordinary and necessary business expense and so, therefore, the deductions taken by STW for its premiums paid to CSI were improper and would be disallowed. —Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 26 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for disallow

• anyhow
• carabao
• disavow
• allow
• avow
• basedow
• chiao
• endow
• eyebrow
• highbrow
• lanao
• meow

Kids Definition

disallow

verb

dis·​al·​low ˌdis-ə-ˈlau̇ 

: to refuse to admit or allow : reject

disallow a claim

disallowance

-ˈlau̇-ən(t)s 

noun

Legal Definition

disallow

transitive verb

dis·​al·​low ˌdi-sə-ˈlau̇ 

1

: to deny the truth, force, or validity of

disallowed the deduction

disallow a bankruptcy claim

2

: to refuse to allow

disallow payment of benefits

disallowance noun