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deny

/dɪˈnaɪ//dɪˈnaɪ/·verb
to refuse to give or allow someone something they want; also, to say that something is not true
Fig. 1 — 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.
01Definition

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.

02In use
  • iBorder officers can deny entry to anyone whose papers are incomplete.
  • iiThe journal denied his appeal to have the rejected paper reconsidered.
  • iiiYou cannot deny a patient urgent care just because a form is missing.
03Collocations
  • deny access
  • deny a request
  • deny responsibility
  • flatly deny
  • categorically deny

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

04Relations

=refuse, withhold, reject, rebuff, turn down

≠grant, admit, allow, confirm

05Compared
PairThe difference
deny vs refuseyou refuse TO DO something; you deny SOMEONE something (or deny that it is true).
deny vs refutestating that something is untrue, or refusing to grant it → deny; proving a claim false with evidence → refute.
deny vs withholdspeak a clear no to a request → deny; quietly keep back what is owed → withhold (only deny can also mean 'say it isn't true').
06TOEFL & 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.

07Asked
Is it 'deny doing' or 'deny to do'?
Deny takes the -ing form only: 'he denied taking the money', never 'denied to take'. It joins the verbs (admit, avoid, risk, enjoy) that refuse the infinitive. If you feel an urge to write 'deny to do', the verb you probably want is refuse — you refuse TO do, but you deny DOING.
What does 'in denial' mean?
Refusing to accept a reality that is plainly true — a psychological self-defence rather than a lie told to others: 'he's in denial about the diagnosis'. It borrows the word's second sense (declaring something untrue) and turns it inward. The scene above catches the pure gesture — caught cold, cuffed, and still the head turning slowly, no, no.
What does 'self-denial' mean?
Deliberately going without things you want — pleasures, comforts, indulgences — for a higher goal, whether discipline, thrift, or principle. Here deny keeps its 'refuse to grant' sense but turns the refusal on yourself: you deny yourself the dessert. It is the virtue side of the word, admired where plain denial is not.
What does 'denied' mean in law?
That a judge has refused a request outright: a denied motion, denied bail, a denied appeal all mean 'no, this will not be granted'. It differs from dismissed, which throws out a whole case rather than a single request. Denied decides against you on the point; dismissed ends the matter.
What do 'deniable' and 'undeniable' mean?
Undeniable means impossible to dispute — a truth so plain that denial fails ('undeniable evidence'). Deniable is quieter and more political: something arranged so that a person can plausibly deny involvement, the root of the phrase 'plausible deniability'. One shuts denial down; the other builds an escape hatch for it.
What is the difference between deny and refuse?
Direction of the thing wanted: you deny someone what they ask of you (deny a request, deny access), you refuse what is offered to you (refuse an invitation). The masked man in the scene above denies the charge. The full contrast, with both animated scenes, is on the deny vs refuse page in the 'Compared' list above.