| SYLLABICATION: | de·ny |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  d -n  |
| TRANSITIVE VERB: | Inflected forms: de·nied, de·ny·ing, de·nies 1. To declare untrue; contradict. 2. To refuse to believe; reject. 3. To refuse to recognize or acknowledge; disavow. 4a. To decline to grant or allow; refuse: deny the student's request; denied the prisoner food or water. b. To give a refusal to; turn down or away: The protesters were determined not to be denied. c. To restrain (oneself) especially from indulgence in pleasures. |
| ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English denien, from Old French denier, from Latin d neg re : d-, de- + negre, to say no; see ne in Appendix I. |
| SYNONYMS: | deny, contradict, contravene, disaffirm, gainsay, negate, traverse These verbs mean to refuse to admit the existence, truth, or value of: denied the rumor; contradicted the statement; contravene a conclusion; disaffirm a suggestion; trying to gainsay the evidence; negated the allegations; traverse an indictment. |
| ANTONYM: | affirm |