denegation

noun

den·e·ga·tion ˌde-ni-ˈgā-shən

: denial

Did you know?

Even if we didn't provide you with a definition, you might guess the meaning of denegation from the negation part. Both words are ultimately derived from the Latin verb negare, meaning "to deny" or "to say no," and both first arrived in English in the 15th century. Negare is also the source of our abnegation ("self-denial"), negate ("to deny the truth of"), and renegade (which originally referred to someone who leaves, and therefore denies, a religious faith). Even deny and denial are negare descendants. Like denegation, they came to us from negare by way of the Latin denegare, which also means "to deny."

Examples of denegation in a Sentence

this recent flip-flop is merely the latest in a series of denegations by the governor of previously held positions

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French & Late Latin; Middle French denegacion, borrowed from Late Latin dēnegātiōn-, dēnegātiō, from Latin dēnegāre "to deny" (from dē- de- + negāre "to say no [with the negative of a conjoined clause], deny, say no") + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at negate

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of denegation was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century