DENIAL | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary
/ Sign up
English (US)

Meaning of denial in English

denial
noun
us
/dɪˈnaɪ.əl/ uk
/dɪˈnaɪ.əl/

denial noun (NOT TRUE)

Add to word list Add to word list
C2 [ C ]
a statement that something is not true or does not exist:
issue a denial The CEO issued a denial of the report that she is about to resign.
[ + that ] Officials did not believe the runner's denial that he had taken drugs.
denial of His denial of responsibility for the accident was unconvincing.
C2 [ C ]
a statement that someone has not done something
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Denying & contradicting
See more results »

denial noun (NOT ALLOW)

[ U ]
the fact of not allowing someone to do or have something:
a denial of a gross denial of justice
See also
self-denial
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Refusing & rejecting
See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

denial noun (NOT ACCEPT)

an unwillingness to accept that something unpleasant is true:
in denial He's still in denial about the break-up of his relationship.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Not believing
See more results »

denial noun (AGAINST BELIEFS)

the situation in which someone behaves in a way that goes against their beliefs and what they think is right:
denial of If I did what you ask, it would be a denial of everything I stand for (= believe in).
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Opinions, beliefs and points of view
See more results »
(Definition of denial from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

denial | Intermediate English

denial
noun
us
/dɪˈnɑɪ·əl/

denial noun (CLAIM)

Add to word list Add to word list
[ C ]
a statement that something is not true:
His statement is not a denial.

denial noun (REFUSAL)

[ U/C ]
the act of not allowing someone to do or have something:
Planning staff recommended denial of the project.

denial noun (FAILURE TO ADMIT)

[ U ]
a state in which someone will not admit that they have knowledge, responsibility, or feelings:
He claims he’s not sick, but I think he’s just in denial.
(Definition of denial from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of denial

denial
Typically, there is a bit of denial and rejection -- but then they see the magic.
From Slate Magazine
I see the problem is your living in denial.
From Washington Post
They know that any lawsuit challenging the denials wouldn't be heard for 60 days -- which is well after the election.
From International Business Times
Most people think of addiction when they hear the word denial, but the truth is that denial is not always seen in addiction.
From TIME
Some people are in denial and have the illusion that they are free.
From CNN
The ruling was in effect a denial that the incident happened at all.
From NPR
Most often, it is a grandparent's in-law child who instigates the denial of access to grandchildren.
From Huffington Post
You do a lot of cosmetic surgery and seem to be more in denial.
From Huffington Post
So clearly, there are some deeply rooted attributes that predispose conservatives towards the denial of global warming.
From Huffington Post
The most powerful denial machine of all may be the one inside our heads.
From TIME
To this day my naivety and denial remain staggering.
From Huffington Post
Too often, parents go into denial because they do not want to face the realities of their offspring's issues, problems or dysfunction.
From Huffington Post
She also said she received no formal denial notice.
From The Star-Ledger - NJ.com
I grew up in an atmosphere of denial.
From Huffington Post
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with denial

denial

These are words often used in combination with denial.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

categorical denial
This is in contrast to the categorical denial of any meaningful change, discussed above.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
complete denial
Members of the group expressed diverse reactions to their ageing, from complete denial to acute awareness.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
denial of access
It can be suggested that denial of access to adequate physical mobility is a contributory factor within each of these dimensions of exclusion.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
See all collocations with denial
What is the pronunciation of denial?
 

Translations of denial

in Chinese (Traditional)
不對, 否認，否定, （某人）否認（做過某事）…
See more
in Chinese (Simplified)
不对, 否认，否定, （某人）否认（做过某事）…
See more
in Spanish
negación, negativa, rechazo…
See more
in Portuguese
negativa, negação, negação [feminine]…
See more
in more languages
in Marathi
in Japanese
in Turkish
in French
in Catalan
in Dutch
in Tamil
in Hindi
in Gujarati
in Danish
in Swedish
in Malay
in German
in Norwegian
in Urdu
in Ukrainian
in Russian
in Telugu
in Arabic
in Bengali
in Czech
in Indonesian
in Thai
in Vietnamese
in Polish
in Korean
in Italian
नकार, खंडन, इन्कार…
See more
否定, 否定（ひてい）, 否認（ひにん）…
See more
inkâr, yalanlama, red…
See more
démenti [masculine], dénégation [feminine], reniement [masculine]…
See more
negació, negativa…
See more
ontkenning, weigering…
See more
ஏதோ ஒன்று உண்மை இல்லை அல்லது இல்லை என்ற கூற்று, யாரோ எதுவும் செய்யவில்லை என்று ஒரு அறிக்கை…
See more
खंडन, प्रतिवाद…
See more
ઇનકાર, નકારવું, અસ્વીકાર કરવો…
See more
benægtelse, dementi, afvisning…
See more
[för]nekande, bestridande, avslag…
See more
penafian, sangkalan…
See more
das Leugnen, die Ablehnung…
See more
nektelse [masculine], benektelse [masculine], fornektelse [masculine]…
See more
تردید, انکار, تردیدی بیان…
See more
заперечення, відмова…
See more
отрицание, отказ…
See more
ఏదో నిజం కాదు లేక ఉనికిలో లేదని ఒక ప్రకటన, ఎవరైనా ఏదో చేయలేదని ఒక ప్రకటన…
See more
إنكار, رَفض…
See more
অস্বীকৃতি…
See more
popření, odmítnutí…
See more
bantahan, penolakan…
See more
การไม่ยอมรับ, การปฎิเสธ…
See more
sự phủ nhận, sự từ chối…
See more
zaprzeczenie, pozbawienie, odmowa…
See more
부인…
See more
negazione, rifiuto, smentita…
See more
Need a translator?

Get a quick, free translation!

Translator tool
 

Browse

dendrophile
dengue
deniability
deniable
denial
denial of service
denialism
denialist
denied

Word of the Day

ride off into the sunset

to begin a new, happy life at the end of a story

About this

Blog

Apples and oranges (Talking about differences, Part 2)

New Words

DINKWAD

More new words
has been added to list
To top
Contents
EnglishIntermediateExamplesCollocationsTranslations
English (US)   Change
English (UK) English (US) Español Русский Português Deutsch Français Italiano 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Polski 한국어 Türkçe 日本語 Tiếng Việt Nederlands Svenska Dansk Norsk हिंदी বাঙ্গালি मराठी ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు Українська
Follow us
Choose a dictionary
  • Recent and Recommended
  • Definitions
    Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English
    English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
  • Grammar and thesaurus
    Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English
    Grammar Thesaurus
  • Pronunciation
    British and American pronunciations with audio
    English Pronunciation
  • Translation
    Click on the arrows to change the translation direction.
    Bilingual Dictionaries
    • English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
    • English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
    • English–Dutch Dutch–English
    • English–French French–English
    • English–German German–English
    • English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
    • English–Italian Italian–English
    • English–Japanese Japanese–English
    • English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
    • English–Polish Polish–English
    • English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
    • English–Spanish Spanish–English
    • English–Swedish Swedish–English
    Semi-bilingual Dictionaries
    English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Danish English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese
  • Dictionary +Plus
    Word Lists
Contents
My word lists

To add denial to a word list please sign up or log in.

Sign up or Log in
My word lists

Add denial to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

More
Go to your word lists
Tell us about this example sentence: