denial

Related to denial: Defense mechanisms

a non-denial denial

A statement that seems or is intended to act as a direct denial to an allegation, but which, when taken literally or examined closely, does not deny the allegation at all. The phrase is most commonly associated with evasive answers of politicians facing scrutiny or accusations of misconduct. When pressed by journalists over certain large, undisclosed expenditures he had recently made, the senator gave a classic non-denial denial of any wrongdoing, stating ambiguously that any such spending was simply associated with the running of his campaign.
See also: denial

be in denial

To be unable or unwilling to believe or acknowledge something as true. The house is in terrible condition, but Carolyn's in denial about it. Are you in denial or something? This is a serious issue!
See also: denial

denial ain't (just) a river in Egypt

cliché A humorous phrase used to highlight the fact that someone is unable or unwilling to believe or acknowledge something as true. (A pun on the colloquial pronunciation of "the Nile.") A: "I mean, I just want to know how she's doing, that's all. I'm totally not still in love with her or anything." B: "Uh huh. Denial ain't just a river in Egypt, you know." The boss thinks he can salvage this project by throwing more money at it. Someone should let him know that denial ain't a river in Egypt.
See also: denial, Egypt, river

denial is not (just) a river in Egypt

cliché A humorous phrase used to highlight the fact that someone is in denial about something. (A pun on the colloquial pronunciation of "the Nile.") A: "I mean, I just want to know how she's doing, that's all. I'm totally not still in love with her or anything." B: "Uh huh. Denial is not just a river in Egypt, you know." The boss thinks he can salvage this project by throwing more money at it. Someone should let him know that denial isn't a river in Egypt.
See also: denial, Egypt, not, river

in denial

Unable or unwilling to believe or acknowledge something as true. The house is in terrible condition, and if Carolyn says it isn't, she's in denial. Are you in denial or something? This is a serious issue!
See also: denial

state of denial

A state of inability or unwillingness to believe or acknowledge something as true. The house is in terrible condition, and if Carolyn says it isn't, she's in a state of denial. Are you in a state of denial or something? This is a serious issue!
See also: denial, of, state
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

in denial

in a state of refusing to believe something that is true. Mary was in denial about her illness and refused treatment. Tom doesn't think he's an alcoholic because he's still in denial.
See also: denial
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • a non-denial denial
  • non
  • literally
  • smurf attack
  • I expect not
  • I suppose not
  • I suspect not
  • statement
  • I think not
  • I guess not
References in periodicals archive
Fifty years ago, Richard Nixon transformed this historic heartbeat of denial into an intoxicating political philosophy.
The heartbeat of racism is denial
Registration/Eligibility As reflected in the denial data chart, registration/eligibility errors account for the largest percentage of denials, so they represent the best chance to improve overall revenue cycle performance.
Rethinking denial management: most organizations take an administrative approach to managing denials. Maybe that's why they're not collecting as much as they should
A mathematical model based on Absorbing Markov Chain (AMC) [1] was used to detect denial of sleep attack in sensor network.
A complete survey on various prevention approaches for denial of sleep attack in wireless sensor networks
Following debate at the House legal affairs committee on Monday, the parties took on board Omirou's legislative proposal, but with a modification -- denial of genocide will constitute a criminal offence only where the House resolution recognising that genocide was unanimous.
Agreement on criminalising denial of Armenian genocide
Usually, a person must believe they have a free will before they can experience a sense of responsibility, feel guilty about a wrong, and resort to denial as a way of coping with the unpleasantness of the guilt.
A Happier World CEO Implicates Free Will Belief in Climate Change Denial
To note, the bill on criminalizing of the Armenian genocide denial was adopted by the French Senate in 2012.
Armenian community of France calls on Hollande to keep his promise and adopts a bill on criminalizing of Armenian genocide denial
This determination is usually communicated back to the hospital the same day or the following day via a phone call, faxed log, or faxed denial letter.
Concurrent utilization review: getting it right
What were the legal and factual bases relied on by the government to support that denial? Were the proper legal standards and burdens of proof utilized by USCIS or the US embassy in supporting the denial?
There could still be hope after a denial
Also, note the use of the word "properly." Sometimes claims that are not covered are denied in an improper way and, until or unless that has been corrected, the claim denial may not stand.
What It Takes to Successfully Resolve Insurance Coverage and Claims Disputes
Visits with emergency department discharge diagnoses defined by Anthem's policy as nonemergent and therefore subject to possible denial of coverage were categorized as denial diagnosis visits.
Policy Denying Coverage for Nonemergent ED Visits Imprecise; Of the visits meeting criteria for denial of coverage, 39.7 percent received ED-level care
Denial is often considered the final stage of genocide.
UNDENIABLY DIFFICULT: EXTRADITION AND GENOCIDE DENIAL LAWS
In a statement released today, Iskandar Puteri MP Lim Kit Siang said Najib's denial of signing off RM470 million from 1MDB into BN and Umno accounts contrasted with statements from other leaders in the past.
Prove millions from bank accounts for BN parties, not from 1MDB, Najib told
A federal judge in California has ordered the Trump Administration to reconsider the asylum requests of 87 Iranian refugees--overruling the blanket denial the government had issued to all of them.
US court: Trump cannot ban en masse minority refugees from Iran