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Glite Dictionary
🗣️ Indirect admission 🤔 Not clearly denying
nondenial

nondenial

1 9.3
A reply that does not clearly say no when asked and seems like an admission
  • noun
  • /ˌnɒn.dɪˈnaɪ.əl/
  • Literature
translation icon : no negación
  • His statement was a nondenial, suggesting that he might be involved without directly admitting it.

Examples

  • I thought there was no way that they didn't have anything else, especially when McCain issued his nondenial.

    Blog text (8)

  • When asked about the rumors, she responded with a nondenial that left many questions unanswered.

  • The politician's nondenial fueled speculation among reporters about the scandal.

Synonyms

evasion
vsnondenial
12 6.6

An indirect statement that hides an unpleasant truth

is an omission that implies guilt rather than deliberate misdirection
non-denial denial
vsnondenial
  • Literature
1 8.6

A reply that seems to say no but avoids saying yes or no

is a clear omission that listeners read as an implicit admission

Antonyms

denial
61 2.8

Refusing a request or saying something is not true

How Denying

denial
61 2.8
non-denial denial
  • Literature
1 8.6
nondenial
  • Literature
1 9.3
admission
117 3.8

Surface Forms

nondenial singular
nondenials plural

Morphology

nondenial = denial (transparent) = non + deny + al

The noun sense is a straightforward nominal use of 'non-' + 'denial' meaning 'a statement that is not a denial'.

Etymology

Nondenial comes from non- 'not' and denial 'saying no', and means a statement that does not directly deny something, which people often take as a quiet 'yes'.