refuses to admit or accept something, or refuses to give something to someone.
From Old French denier, from Latin denegare (to refuse). The prefix de- means 'away from' and negare means 'to say no,' so literally 'say away from.'
In psychology, 'denial' is so powerful that therapists consider it a defense mechanism—our brains literally can't accept traumatic truths, so 'denies' isn't always a conscious choice but a survival instinct.
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