🗣️ Indirect admission 🤔 Not clearly denying

nondenial

1 9.3

A reply that does not clearly say no when asked and seems like an admission

noun
/ˌnɒn.dɪˈnaɪ.əl/

Literature

: 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

6 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

101 2.8

Refusing a request or saying something is not true

How Denying

denial

101 2.8

non-denial denial

Literature

1 8.6

nondenial

Literature

1 9.3

admission

127 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'.