German word

leugnen

Pronunciation

IPA/ˈlɔʏ̯gnən/

Meaning

  • verbdeny

Example

Er leugnete den Diebstahl.

He denied that he had committed the theft.

Illustration for leugnen (deny)

More examples

Die Firma leugnet jegliche Verantwortung.

The company denies all responsibility.

Core concept

A person pushes an accusation away, insisting that the event did not happen or was not their responsibility.

Common phrases

  • etwas leugnen

    deny something

  • die Vorwürfe leugnen

    deny the accusations

  • die Tat leugnen

    deny the crime

Similar words

verneinen: Respond negatively to a question or stated proposition.
abstreiten: Refuse to admit involvement in a suspected act or responsibility for it.
bestreiten: Dispute a fact or claim by arguing that it is untrue or incorrect.

Definition in German

eine Behauptung oder Anschuldigung abstreiten; sagen, dass etwas nicht stattgefunden hat oder man nicht verantwortlich ist

Word origin

Leugnen developed from Middle High German löugenen and belongs to the Germanic word family represented by German lügen, meaning 'to lie'.

Usage tips

  • The verb takes an accusative object, as in etwas leugnen, and commonly introduces a clause with dass.

Other meanings

  • disclaimverb

Opposites

Related words

  • Leugnungdenialnoun
  • Leugnerdeniernoun

Word lists with this word