Word of the Day
: November 7, 2006gainsay
playWhat It Means
1 : to declare to be untrue or invalid
2 : contradict, oppose
gainsay in Context
Although he claimed to be astonished by the accusations made against him, Kevin made no attempt to gainsay them.
Did You Know?
You might have trouble figuring out "gainsay" if you're thinking of our modern "gain" plus "say." It might help to know that the "gain-" part is actually related to "against." In Old English, "gēan-" meant "against." From that came the Middle English "gain-." "Gain-" was joined with "sayen" ("say") to form "gainsayen," the Middle English predecessor of "gainsay." So when you see "gainsay," think "say against" -- that is, "deny" or "contradict." When you do happen to come across "gainsay," it's likely to be in literature. "Gainsay" is a literary, somewhat old-fashioned word that isn't heard much in everyday modern speech.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
