Denied

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /dɪˈnaɪd/

Definitions

1. Not granted permission or access to something ; refused to accept or agree with a claim or statement ; stated that something is not true or disowned
2. Prevented from doing or having something ; contradicted or dismissed a statement or request ; declared that something is untrue or rejected association with it
3. Withheld approval or entrance ; opposed or invalidated a proposition or assertion ; denied responsibility or rejected as belonging to oneself

Etymology: "Denied" is the past tense and past participle of "deny," a verb that has come down through French from a Latin word built on a negative. The Latin "denegare" combined "de-," meaning "away," with "negare," meaning "to refuse," and the same "negare" root sits behind "negation" and "negative." Its basic sense was to refuse something outright, which is still close to the modern meaning of refusing someone permission. Old French softened that refusal into "denoier," meaning to deny or to repudiate, and Middle English took the word from there as "denyen." The English verb therefore reached us through French, not directly from Latin, and it shares a source with "denegate," a more formal relative that English also picked up from the same Latin verb.

Synonyms: refused, rejected, disallowed, contradicted, disputed

Antonyms: accepted, approved, granted, acknowledged, confirmed