1
as in refusal
an unwillingness to grant something asked for
our supervisor's denial of unpaid personal leave got mixed reactions from the staff
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in rejection
a refusal to confirm the truth of a statement
the senator issued a flat denial of the accusation against her
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of denial
The court did not explain the denial.
—
Devin Dwyer, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2025
The best way to determine that would be to run computer models with weather balloon data fed into them and without it, in what is known as a data denial experiment — impossible to do without the data itself.
—Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025
The court’s denial of the government’s motion represents an early setback for prosecutors in a high-profile case involving a former senior law enforcement official.
—Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
To jailbreak ChatGPT, NBC News asked the models an innocuous question, included the jailbreak prompt and then asked an additional question that would normally trigger a denial for violating safety terms, like a request for how to create a dangerous poison or defraud a bank.
—Jasmine Cui, NBC news, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for denial
Devin Dwyer, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2025
The best way to determine that would be to run computer models with weather balloon data fed into them and without it, in what is known as a data denial experiment — impossible to do without the data itself.
—Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025
The court’s denial of the government’s motion represents an early setback for prosecutors in a high-profile case involving a former senior law enforcement official.
—Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
To jailbreak ChatGPT, NBC News asked the models an innocuous question, included the jailbreak prompt and then asked an additional question that would normally trigger a denial for violating safety terms, like a request for how to create a dangerous poison or defraud a bank.
—Jasmine Cui, NBC news, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for denial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for denial
Noun
-
Two cases about the passport refusals eventually made their way to the Supreme Court.—
Time,
Time,
20 Oct. 2025
-
And now, because of their refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, people are confronting premiums that will double, triple, or in some cases quadruple in amount.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Research shows that people who acknowledge or apologize for rejection risk activating the rejectee’s ire, rather than alleviating hurt feelings.—
Anna Holmes,
The Atlantic,
20 Oct. 2025
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And the ego needed to overcome shyness and stage fright collides with the endless rejection that defines the profession.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
20 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Denial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/denial. Accessed 25 Oct. 2025.
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