Denial in Psychology Is Not the Same as Lying
Denial is a refusal to accept something. In psychology it describes an unconscious defence, not a deliberate falsehood.
Denial is the refusal to admit the truth of something. Psychology uses it for something specific: an unconscious defence mechanism in which a person cannot accept a painful reality, as distinct from lying, which requires knowing the truth. Saying someone is *in denial* claims they cannot see it, not that they are concealing it.
- Refusal to accept something. *Denial of the facts.*
- A refusal of a request. *Denial of access.*
- A defence mechanism. *He is in denial.*
- A statement that something is untrue. *An official denial.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | denial | A flat denial. |
| Plural | denials | Repeated denials. |
| Verb | deny | Deny the charge. |
| Adjective | deniable | Plausibly deniable. |
| Noun | denier | A climate denier. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The company issued a denial.A public statement.
- He is in denial about it.Psychological sense.
- Plausible deniability.Arranged so a denial can be believed.
Related ideas
- Denial — inability or refusal to accept a reality
- Deception — deliberately misleading others
- Self-deception — misleading oneself, partly knowingly
- Plausible deniability — an arrangement letting someone credibly deny knowledge
- Repression — pushing something out of conscious awareness
From *deny*, from Old French *denier*, from Latin *denegare*, to deny, from *de* and *negare*, to say no.
Is denial the same as lying?
No. Lying requires knowing the truth and concealing it. Denial in the psychological sense means being unable to accept it.
What is plausible deniability?
An arrangement in which someone is kept unaware of a decision so that their later denial of knowledge can be believed.