mindmap root((否认)) deny implies a firm refusal to accept as true, to grant or concede, or to acknowledge the existence or claims of: tried to ~ the charges. gainsay implies an opposing, usually by disputing, of the truth of what another has said: no one dares ~ the truth of what I've said. contradict implies an open or flat denial of the truth of an assertion and usually suggests that the reverse is true: her report ~s every point of his statement to the press. traverse chiefly a legal term, implies a formal denial （as of an allegation or the justice of an indictment）: ~d the accusation of fraud in his opening remarks. impugn suggests a forceful, direct attacking, disputing, or contradicting of something or someone, often by prolonged argument: dared to ~ his motives. contravene implies not so much an intentional opposition as some inherent incompatibility: laws against whaling that ~ Eskimo tradition.