deny

Definition

To disallow or reject.

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.

Example Sentences

• "I wanted to go to the party, but I was denied."
• "'Do! pray do! I shall be the most miserable of men if you don't. You cannot be so cruel as to deny me a favour so easily granted and yet so highly prized!' pleaded he as ardently as if his life depended on it."
• "The proposition that foreigners may be depriving British workers of their cod is politically potent. […] This argument, of course, denies the long British history of overfishing and the fact that the dread Spanish supertrawlers, which are now so universally denounced, wre a British invention."

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