lexicow

deny

/dɪˈnaɪ//dɪˈnaɪ/·verb
I watch two officers walk a masked man out between them, one at each arm, the cuffs already on and the swag bagged at his feet. Caught cold — and yet the whole way to the door his head keeps turning, slow and sorry, side to side: no. No, not him, it wasn't him. The hands are taken, but the head will not sign off on the charge.
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Definition

To deny is to hold back what someone asks for — access, permission, a request — so the thing wanted is never handed over: a guard can deny you entry, a court can deny an appeal. It sits close to refuse and withhold, but deny looks outward at the asker and keeps the door on its own side. From Latin denegare, 'to say no to'. A second sense runs beside it: to deny a claim is to declare it untrue. Its noun is denial.

Examples

  • Border officers can deny entry to anyone whose papers are incomplete.
  • The journal denied his appeal to have the rejected paper reconsidered.
  • You cannot deny a patient urgent care just because a form is missing.

Collocations

deny access·deny a request·deny responsibility·flatly deny·categorically deny

Synonyms

refuse·withhold·reject·rebuff·turn down

Antonyms

grant·admit·allow·confirm

See also

Word family

denial (noun)·deniable (adjective)·undeniable (adjective)

In TOEFL & IELTS

Deny works two ways in exams: 'deny someone something' (refuse to give it — deny access, deny a request) and 'deny that…' (claim it is false — deny the allegations). Do not confuse it with refuse: you deny what another person wants from you, but you refuse what is offered to you. It takes a person + thing ('they denied her the grant'), and the strong adverbs 'flatly/categorically deny' are useful when writing about disputes.