deny

B1 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /dəˈnaɪ/ UK /dɪˈnaɪ/ See IPA manual

Freq #2744

Meanings

1

verb
To say that something is not true.

He denied that he had taken the money.
2

verb
To refuse to give someone something they want or need.

The school denied her the chance to take the exam early.
3

verb
To refuse to admit that you know or are connected to someone.

Peter denied that he even knew the man.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to say that something is... contradict disclaim refute

3 verb · to refuse to admit that you... disavow disown renounce

Word family

Forms denieddeniesdenying

Derived forms deliedeniabilitydeniabledeniancedenierdenyinglyindeniablyredenyself-denyingundeniable undeniablyundenied

Related forms denial

Simplified etymology

Deny is a Middle English word from the same Latin source as negative: negare “to deny.”

Etymology

From Middle English denyen, from Old French denoier (“to deny, to repudiate”) (French dénier), from Latin denegare (“to deny, to refuse”), from de- (“away”) and negare (“to refuse”), the latter ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *né (“no, not”). Doublet of denegate.

*h₁eǵ- Proto-Indo-European denyen Middle English denoier Old French denegare Latin *né Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# deny

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /dəˈnaɪ/
**IPA (UK):** /dɪˈnaɪ/
**Frequency rank:** 2744

## Meanings
1. To say that something is not true.
2. To refuse to give someone something they want or need.
3. To refuse to admit that you know or are connected to someone.

## Examples
- He denied that he had taken the money.
- The school denied her the chance to take the exam early.
- Peter denied that he even knew the man.

## Derived Forms
- delie
- deniability
- deniable
- deniance
- denier
- denyingly
- indeniably
- redeny
- self-denying
- undeniable
- undeniably
- undenied

## Related Forms
- denial

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *h₁eǵ-
- Root: denyen
- Root: denoier
- Root: denegare
- Root: *né

## Etymology
From Middle English denyen, from Old French denoier (“to deny, to repudiate”) (French dénier), from Latin denegare (“to deny, to refuse”), from de- (“away”) and negare (“to refuse”), the latter ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *né (“no, not”). Doublet of denegate.

## AI Etymology
deny comes from Middle English denyen, from Old French denoier (“to deny, to repudiate”) (French dénier), from Latin denegare (“to deny, to refuse”), from de- (“away”) and negare (“to refuse”), the latter ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *né (“no, not”). Doublet of denegate. The historical chain includes Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵ-, Middle English denyen, Old French denoier, Latin denegare, Proto-Indo-European *né. Current senses include to say that something is not true and to refuse to give someone something they want or need. English relatives and later formations include delie, deniability, deniable, denial.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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