deny


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Related to deny: deny yourself

de·ny

 (dĭ-nī′)
tr.v. de·nied, de·ny·ing, de·nies
1. To declare untrue; assert to be false: "A senior officer denied that any sensitive documents had been stored there" (Scott Ritter).
2. To refuse to believe; reject: deny the existence of evil spirits.
3. To refuse to recognize or acknowledge; disavow: The official denied any wrongdoing.
4.
a. 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.

[Middle English denien, from Old French denier, from Latin dēnegāre : dē-, de- + negāre, to say no; see ne in Indo-European roots.]
Synonyms: deny, contradict, gainsay
These verbs mean to refuse to admit the existence, truth, or value of: denied the rumor; contradicted the statement; trying to gainsay the evidence.
Antonym: affirm
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

deny

(dɪˈnaɪ)
vb (tr) , -nies, -nying or -nied
1. to declare (an assertion, statement, etc) to be untrue: he denied that he had killed her.
2. to reject as false; refuse to accept or believe
3. to withhold; refuse to give
4. to refuse to fulfil the requests or expectations of: it is hard to deny a child.
5. to refuse to acknowledge or recognize; disown; disavow: the baron denied his wicked son.
6. to refuse (oneself) things desired
[C13: from Old French denier, from Latin dēnegāre, from negāre]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

de•ny

(dɪˈnaɪ)

v.t. -nied, -ny•ing.
1. to state that (something declared) is not true: to deny an accusation.
2. to refuse to agree or accede to: to deny a petition.
3. to withhold the possession, use, or enjoyment of: to deny access to information.
4. to withhold something from, or refuse to grant a request of: to deny a beggar.
5. to refuse to recognize or acknowledge; disavow; repudiate: to deny one's gods.
Idioms:
deny oneself,
a. to refrain from satisfying one's desires.
b. to refuse to indulge oneself in; abstain from.
[1250–1300; < Old French denier < Latin dēnegāre=- de- + negāre to deny]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

deny

1. saying that something is not true

If you deny an accusation or a statement, you say that it is not true.

The accused women denied all the charges brought against them.
He denied that he was involved.
Gabriel denied doing anything illegal.

Be Careful!
Deny must be followed by an object, a that-clause, or an -ing form. You say, for example, 'He accused her of stealing, but she denied it'. Don't say 'He accused her of stealing but she denied'.

Be Careful!
If someone answers 'no' to an ordinary question in which they are not accused of anything, don't say that they 'deny' what they are asked. Don't say, for example, 'I asked him if the train had left, and he denied it'. You say 'I asked him if the train had left, and he said no'.

She asked if you'd been in and I said no.
2. refusing to let someone have something

If you deny someone something that they need or want, you refuse to let them have it.

His ex-wife denied him access to his children.
Don't deny yourself pleasure.

Be Careful!
However, if someone says that they will not do something that someone asks them to do, don't say that they 'deny' it. You say that they refuse to do it or refuse.

Three employees were dismissed for refusing to join a union.
We asked them to play a game with us, but they refused.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

deny


Past participle: denied
Gerund: denying

Imperative
deny
deny
Present
I deny
you deny
he/she/it denies
we deny
you deny
they deny
Preterite
I denied
you denied
he/she/it denied
we denied
you denied
they denied
Present Continuous
I am denying
you are denying
he/she/it is denying
we are denying
you are denying
they are denying
Present Perfect
I have denied
you have denied
he/she/it has denied
we have denied
you have denied
they have denied
Past Continuous
I was denying
you were denying
he/she/it was denying
we were denying
you were denying
they were denying
Past Perfect
I had denied
you had denied
he/she/it had denied
we had denied
you had denied
they had denied
Future
I will deny
you will deny
he/she/it will deny
we will deny
you will deny
they will deny
Future Perfect
I will have denied
you will have denied
he/she/it will have denied
we will have denied
you will have denied
they will have denied
Future Continuous
I will be denying
you will be denying
he/she/it will be denying
we will be denying
you will be denying
they will be denying
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been denying
you have been denying
he/she/it has been denying
we have been denying
you have been denying
they have been denying
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been denying
you will have been denying
he/she/it will have been denying
we will have been denying
you will have been denying
they will have been denying
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been denying
you had been denying
he/she/it had been denying
we had been denying
you had been denying
they had been denying
Conditional
I would deny
you would deny
he/she/it would deny
we would deny
you would deny
they would deny
Past Conditional
I would have denied
you would have denied
he/she/it would have denied
we would have denied
you would have denied
they would have denied
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.deny - declare untrue; contradict; "He denied the allegations"; "She denied that she had taken money"
disclaim - make a disclaimer about; "He disclaimed any responsibility"
repudiate - reject as untrue, unfounded, or unjust; "She repudiated the accusations"
disavow - refuse to acknowledge; disclaim knowledge of; responsibility for, or association with; "Her husband disavowed her after 30 years of marriage and six children"
contradict, contravene, negate - deny the truth of
acknowledge, admit - declare to be true or admit the existence or reality or truth of; "He admitted his errors"; "She acknowledged that she might have forgotten"
2.deny - refuse to accept or believe; "He denied his fatal illness"
repudiate, disown, renounce - cast off; "She renounced her husband"; "The parents repudiated their son"
abnegate - deny or renounce; "They abnegated their gods"
3.deny - refuse to grant, as of a petition or request; "The dean denied the students' request for more physics courses"; "the prisoners were denied the right to exercise for more than 2 hours a day"
withhold, keep back - hold back; refuse to hand over or share; "The father is withholding the allowance until the son cleans his room"
4.deny - refuse to let have; "She denies me every pleasure"; "he denies her her weekly allowance"
keep, hold on - retain possession of; "Can I keep my old stuffed animals?"; "She kept her maiden name after she married"
abnegate, deny - deny oneself (something); restrain, especially from indulging in some pleasure; "She denied herself wine and spirits"
withhold, keep back - hold back; refuse to hand over or share; "The father is withholding the allowance until the son cleans his room"
grant, allow - let have; "grant permission"; "Mandela was allowed few visitors in prison"
5.deny - deny oneself (something)deny - deny oneself (something); restrain, especially from indulging in some pleasure; "She denied herself wine and spirits"
deny, refuse - refuse to let have; "She denies me every pleasure"; "he denies her her weekly allowance"
curb, hold in, control, moderate, contain, check, hold - lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits; "moderate your alcohol intake"; "hold your tongue"; "hold your temper"; "control your anger"
6.deny - deny formally (an allegation of fact by the opposing party) in a legal suitdeny - deny formally (an allegation of fact by the opposing party) in a legal suit
practice of law, law - the learned profession that is mastered by graduate study in a law school and that is responsible for the judicial system; "he studied law at Yale"
7.deny - refuse to recognize or acknowledge; "Peter denied Jesus"
disavow - refuse to acknowledge; disclaim knowledge of; responsibility for, or association with; "Her husband disavowed her after 30 years of marriage and six children"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

deny

verb
1. contradict, oppose, counter, disagree with, rebuff, negate, rebut, refute, gainsay (archaic or literary) She denied the accusations.
contradict agree, accept, admit, confirm, acknowledge, recognize, concede, allow, affirm, take on board
2. renounce, reject, discard, revoke, retract, repudiate, renege, disown, rebut, disavow, recant, disclaim, abjure, abnegate, refuse to acknowledge or recognize I denied my parents because I wanted to become someone else.
3. refuse, decline, forbid, reject, rule out, veto, turn down, prohibit, withhold, preclude, disallow, negate, begrudge, interdict His ex-wife denies him access to his children.
refuse let, grant, permit
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

deny

verb
1. To refuse to admit the truth, reality, value, or worth of:
Law: traverse.
2. To be unwilling to grant:
3. To refuse to recognize or acknowledge:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
يَرْفُضيُنْكِريُنْكِرُ
popřítzamítnoutzapřít
nægtebenægte
kieltääkiistää
nijekati
tagad
neita umneita, vísa á bug
否定する
부정하다
atmetimasneigtipaneigimas
neatļautnoliegtnoraidīt
zanikati
förnekaförvägraneka
ปฏิเสธ
inkar etmekinkâr etmekkabul etmemekreddetmek
phủ nhận

deny

[dɪˈnaɪ] VT
1. [+ charge] → negar, rechazar; [+ report] → desmentir; [+ possibility, truth of statement] → negar
to deny having done sthnegar haber hecho algo
to deny thatnegar que ...
he denies that he said it; he denies having said itniega haberlo dicho
I don't deny itno lo niego
she denied everythinglo negó todo
there's no denying itno se puede negar, es innegable
2. (= refuse) [+ request] → denegar
to deny sb sthnegar algo a algn, privar a algn de algo
to deny o.s. sthprivarse de algo
he was not going to be denied his revengenada iba a impedir su venganza
3. (= renounce) [+ faith] → renegar de
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

deny

[dɪˈnaɪ] vt
[+ accusation] → nier
She denied everything → Elle a tout nié.
to deny involvement → nier toute participation
to deny (that) ... → nier que ...
to deny knowing sth → nier avoir eu connaissance de qch
to deny having done → nier avoir fait
(= refuse) → refuser
to deny sb sth → refuser qch à qn
(= disown) → renier
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

deny

vt
charge, accusation etcbestreiten, abstreiten, (ab)leugnen; existence of Godleugnen; (officially) → dementieren; do you deny having said that?bestreiten or leugnen Sie, das gesagt zu haben?; there’s no denying itdas lässt sich nicht bestreiten or leugnen; I deny that there is a real need for itich bestreite, dass ein echtes Bedürfnis danach besteht; to deny liabilitykeine Haftung übernehmen
(= refuse) to deny somebody’s requestjdm seine Bitte abschlagen; to deny somebody his rightsjdm seine Rechte vorenthalten; to deny somebody aid/a privilegejdm Hilfe/ein Privileg versagen; to deny somebody access (to something)jdm den Zugang (zu etw) verwehren; to deny somebody creditjdm den Kredit verweigern; I can’t deny her anythingich kann ihr nichts abschlagen; I had to deny myself the pleasure of seeing himich musste mir das Vergnügen, ihn zu sehen, versagen; why should I deny myself these little comforts?warum sollte ich mir das bisschen Komfort nicht gönnen?
(= disown) leader, religion, principlesverleugnen
to deny oneselfsich selbst verleugnen
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

deny

[dɪˈnaɪ] vt
a. (possibility, truth of statement, charge) → negare; (report) → smentire
there's no denying it → è innegabile
he denies having said it → nega di averlo detto
b. (refuse) to deny sb sthnegare qc a qn, rifiutare qc a qn
to deny o.s. sth → negarsi qc, privarsi di qc
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

deny

(diˈnai) verb
1. to declare not to be true. He denied the charge of theft.
2. to refuse (to give or grant someone something); to say `no' to. He was denied admission to the house.
deˈnial noun
1. (an act of) declaring that something is not true. Do you accept her denial?
2. (an act of) refusing someone something. a denial of his request.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

deny

يُنْكِرُ popřít nægte bestreiten διαψεύδω negar kieltää nier nijekati negare 否定する 부정하다 ontkennen nekte zaprzeczyć negar отрицать förneka ปฏิเสธ inkar etmek phủ nhận 否认
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

deny

v. negar, rehusar.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
References in classic literature ?
"You deny, therefore, having ever been at Loewestein?"
"I cannot deny having been at Loewestein, your Highness, but I deny having stolen the tulip."
For none deny, there is a God, but those, for whom it maketh that there were no God.
Come now, senor, can you deny what is commonly said around us, when a person is out of humour, 'I don't know what ails so-and-so, that he neither eats, nor drinks, nor sleeps, nor gives a proper answer to any question; one would think he was enchanted'?
`Well, at any rate, the Dormouse said--' the Hatter went on, looking anxiously round to see if he would deny it too: but the Dormouse denied nothing, being fast asleep.
We were not, replied I, in danger of being stabbed or poisoned, but are doomed to a more lingering and painful death by that prohibition which obliges your subjects to deny us the necessaries of life; if it be Your Highness's pleasure that we die here, we entreat that we may at least be despatched quickly, and not condemned to longer torments.
You dare not, you cannot deny, that you have been the principal, if not the only means of dividing them from each other-- of exposing one to the censure of the world for caprice and
"They're here, they're here, you little wretches," I would have cried, "and you can't deny it now!" The little wretches denied it with all the added volume of their sociability and their tenderness, in just the crystal depths of which-- like the flash of a fish in a stream--the mockery of their advantage peeped up.
"How!" said Allworthy, "will you yet deny what you was formerly convicted of upon such unanswerable, such manifest evidence?
I told him how imprudently his brother had managed himself, in making himself so public; for that if he had kept it a secret, as such a thing out to have been, I could but have denied him positively, without giving any reason for it, and he would in time have ceased his solicitations; but that he had the vanity, first, to depend upon it that I would not deny him, and then had taken the freedom to tell his resolution of having me to the whole house.
Let nothing linger after-- No whispering ghost remain, In wall, or beam, or rafter, Of any hate or pain: Cleanse and call home thy spirit, Deny her leave to cast, On aught thy heirs inherit, The shadow of her past.
But I deny that I am prejudiced by any personal feeling."