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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

denial.

An assertion of untruth.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/dɪˈnaɪ.əl/General-American, Received-Pronunciation
  1. An assertion of untruth.

    countable · uncountable
    The singer has issued a sweeping denial of all the rumors.
  2. The negation in logic.

    countable · uncountable
    The denial of "There might be X" is the null, "False, there is no X."
  3. A refusal or failure to provide or grant something that is requested or desired.

    countable · uncountable
    The denial of medical treatment to those who cannot afford to pay is scandalous.
    I cannot understand the bank's denial of my loan application.
  4. Refusal to believe that a problem exists.

    countable · uncountable
    We couldn't break through his denial about being alcoholic.
  5. Refusal to admit responsibility for wrongdoing.

    countable · uncountable
  6. Negationism, denialism of historical facts or accepted interpretation.

    countable · uncountable
  7. A defense mechanism involving a refusal to accept the truth of a phenomenon or prospect.

    countable · uncountable
    He is in denial that he has a drinking problem.
  8. A disownment or disavowal

    countable · uncountable
    The denial of Jesus by Peter.
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree English deny Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālisbor. Old French -albor. ▲ Latin -ālis Old French -elbor. ▲ Latin -ālisbor. Middle English -al English -al English denial From deny + -al.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.