First Known Use: 14th century
Dictionary
deny
verb de·ny \di-ˈnī, dē-\
: to say that something is not true
: to refuse to accept or admit (something)
: to refuse to give (something) to someone : to prevent someone from having or receiving (something)
de·niedde·ny·ing
Full Definition of DENY
transitive verb
1
: to declare untrue <deny an allegation>
2
: to refuse to admit or acknowledge : disavow <deny responsibility>
3
a : to give a negative answer to <denying the petitioners> b : to refuse to grant <deny a request> c : to restrain (oneself) from gratification of desires
4
archaic : decline
5
: to refuse to accept the existence, truth, or validity of
— de·ny·ing·ly \-ˈnī-iŋ-lē\ adverb
See deny defined for English-language learners
See deny defined for kids
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Origin of DENY
Middle English, from Anglo-French deneier, denier, from Latin denegare, from de- + negare to deny — more at negate
Related to DENY
Synonym Discussion of 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>.
Rhymes with DENY
aby, agley, air-dry, Alai, ally, Altai, anti, apply, assai, awry, aye-aye, Bacchae, Baha'i, banzai, barfly, bee fly, Belgae, belie, bigeye, big lie, black eye, blackfly, black tie, blow-dry, blowby, blowfly, blue-sky, Bo Hai, bone-dry, bonsai, botfly, Brunei, buckeye, bugeye, bye-bye, canaille, catchfly, cat's-eye, Chennai, chess pie, Chiang Mai, cockeye, cockshy, come by, comply, cow pie, crane fly, cross-eye, deadeye, decry, deep-fry, deep-sky, deerfly, defy, Delphi, descry, do by, dong quai, drip-dry, drop by, dry eye, dry fly, elhi, Eli, espy, face fly, firefly, fish-eye, flesh fly, flyby, fly high, forby, freeze-dry, frogeye, fruit fly, gadfly, gallfly, get by, GI, glass eye, go by, good-bye, greenfly, grisaille, gun-shy, Haggai, Hawkeye, heel fly, hereby, hi-fi, hog-tie, horn fly, horsefly, housefly, imply, jai alai, July, Karzai, Kasai, knee-high, lanai, Lanai, lay-by, lay by, Lehigh, let fly, Levi, lie by, magpie, mai tai, mao-tai, Masai, mayfly, medfly, mind's eye, Moirai, mooneye, Mumbai, my eye, nearby, necktie, nilgai, nisi, outbye, outcry, oxeye, pad thai, Panay, panfry, Parcae, piece-dye, pigsty, pinkeye, Po Hai, pop eye, pop fly, potpie, put by, Qinghai, quasi, rabbi, red-eye, rely, reply, rib eye, ride high, rocaille, rough-dry, run dry, Sakai, sand fly, sci-fi, screw eye, semi, Sendai, serai, set by, shanghai, Shanghai, sheep's eye, shoofly, shut-eye, Sinai, sky-high, small-fry, stand by, standby, stir-fry, string tie, supply, swear by, terai, test-fly, thereby, tie-dye, titi, tongue-tie, Transkei, twist tie, two-ply, untie, vat dye, Versailles, walleye, well-nigh, whereby, whitefly, wild rye, wise guy
DENY Defined for Kids
deny
verb de·ny \di-ˈnī\
de·niedde·ny·ing
Definition of DENY for Kids
1
: to declare not to be true <“Well, they were a lazy lot—that much you can't deny.” — Mary Norton, The Borrowers>
2
: to refuse to grant <deny a request>
3
: to refuse to admit <deny guilt>
Word Root of DENY
The Latin word negāre, meaning “to deny” or “to say no,” and its form negātus give us the root neg. Words from the Latin negāre have something to do with saying no. Anything negative, such as a reply to a question, denies something or responds by saying no. To renege is to go back on, or deny, an agreement or promise. Even the last letters of deny, to declare something to be false, come from negāre.
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