deny
de·ny/dəˈnaɪ/verb
deny is spelled D-E-N-Y: 4 letters and 2 syllables (de·ny). It appears 22 times per million words in written English, the 4,015th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, deny means “To disallow or reject” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in deny?
| Letters | 4: D-E-N-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: de·ny |
| In writing | 22 times per million words; the 4,015th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is deny?
Deny appears 22 times per million words in written English, the 4,015th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce deny?
- UK /dɪˈnaɪ/
- US /dəˈnaɪ/
- US /dɪ-/
Deny has 2 syllables, split de·ny in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-deny.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with deny?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as deny from its last stressed vowel (/aɪ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: dyne.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of deny
- denies present, singular, he/she/it
- denying participle, present
- denied participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does deny mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To disallow or reject.
I wanted to go to the party, but I was denied.
- 2
To assert that something is not true.
to deny a rumour to deny an allegation
- 3
To refuse to give or grant something to someone.
My father denied me a good education.
- 4
To take something away from someone; to deprive of.
- 5
To prevent from scoring.
- 6
To disclaim connection with, responsibility for, etc.; to refuse to acknowledge; to disown; to abjure; to disavow.
Jesus prophesied that by the time the cock crowed, Peter would have denied him three times.
- 7
obsoleteTo refuse (to do or accept something).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Deny in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | nier, démentir , refuser |
| German | leugnen, bestreiten, dementieren , verweigern |
| Portuguese | negar |
| Spanish | negar, impugnar, salir al paso de , denegar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does deny come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).