Synonyms for deny
Synonyms by meaning
Verb
1. Reject — to disclaim connection with, responsibility for, etc.; to refuse to acknowledge; to disown; to abjure; to…
reject, renounce, disown, disavow, disclaim, repudiate, abjure formal, disallow, forswear
Definitions
- v. 1
To assert that something is not true.
I deny that I was at the party.
- v. 2
To disclaim connection with, responsibility for, etc.; to refuse to acknowledge; to disown; to abjure; to disavow.
Jesus prophesied that by the time the cock crowed, Peter would have denied him three times.
Related words
- Word family
- deniable denial
- Phrases
- deny oneself
Forms
- Past participle
- denied
e.g. denied → rejected, renounced, disowned, disavowed…
Choose the right word
re, back, and canto, sing) is to take back or deny formally and publicly, as a belief that one has held or professed. To deny is to affirm to be not true or not binding; as, to deny a statement or a relationship; or to refuse to grant as something requested; as, his mother could not deny him what he desired.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- reject Voters may yet reject the misbegotten 'Dream Act'.
- renounce I renounce everything as long as I can be with you.
- disown If Republicans hated pedophiles, they would disown Ted Nugent.
- disavow Most of them disavow and denounce that sort of behavior.
- contradict Let our action never contradict what we have said.
- refute It is much harder to refute a lie than to tell one.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| deny | steady | |
| reject | steady | |
| renounce | steady | |
| disown | rising | |
| disavow | steady | |
| contradict | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 5 letters
- debar
- 6 letters
- refuse2, reject2, oppose2, refute2, disown2, impugn2, abjure
- 7 letters
- dispute2, disavow3, gainsay2, withsay
- 8 letters
- negative3, traverse2, withhold2, renounce2, disallow3, disclaim2, forswear2, redlight, abnegate
- 9 letters
- repudiate4
- 10 letters
- contradict3
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (refuse2 = 2 syllables).