gainsay

verb

gain·say ˌgān-ˈsā How to pronounce gainsay (audio)

gainsaid ˌgān-ˈsād How to pronounce gainsay (audio)

-ˈsed

; gainsaying ˌgān-ˈsā-iŋ How to pronounce gainsay (audio)

; gainsays ˌgān-ˈsāz How to pronounce gainsay (audio)

-ˈsez

transitive verb

: to declare to be untrue or invalid

: contradict, oppose

did not dare to gainsay the king

gainsayer noun

Example Sentences

it can't be gainsaid that most people wish they had more time and money repeatedly tried to gainsay me, though every point I made was backed up by facts

Recent Examples on the Web And if the judges are ever to gainsay the popular will with just cause, their institutional independence is the bulwark of their authority to do so.

Matthew J. Franck, National Review, 12 Sep. 2021 Great poems often gainsay in the very act of saying.

Matthew Bevis, The New York Review of Books, 26 Sep. 2020 Some of the yo-yoing on display has been the product of mindless, gainsaying partisanship.

Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 16 Apr. 2020 Yet what’s most original in the film is Mercier’s scathing and self-scourging performance (and there’s no gainsaying the importance of Yoav’s outfit, a collarless saffron-yellow coat).

Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2019 Crime waves are often linked to economic downturns, but this hypothesis is gainsaid by counterexamples, such as the relatively low crime rates during the 1930s depression and the 2008–2010 recession.

Michael Shermer, Scientific American, 1 Nov. 2018 The courage and cleverness in staying in power for so long cannot be gainsaid.

The Economist, 7 Sep. 2019 But there’s no gainsaying his historic significance.

Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2019 Her role in passing the Affordable Care Act was absolutely heroic and should not be gainsaid.

Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 18 July 2019 See More

单词	gainsaid
释义	gainsay verb gain·say ˌgān-ˈsā gainsaid ˌgān-ˈsād -ˈsed ; gainsaying ˌgān-ˈsā-iŋ ; gainsays ˌgān-ˈsāz -ˈsez transitive verb 1 : to declare to be untrue or invalid 2 : contradict, oppose did not dare to gainsay the king gainsayer noun Did you know? You might have trouble figuring out gainsay if you're thinking of our modern gain plus say. It should help to know that the gain- part is actually related to against—specifically the Old English prefix gēan- ("against, in opposition to"). From that came Middle English gain-, which was joined with sayen ("to say") to form gainsayen, the Middle English predecessor of gainsay. So when you see gainsay, think "to say against"—that is, "to deny" or "to contradict." Synonyms contradict deny disaffirm disallow disavow disclaim disconfirm disown negate negative refute reject repudiate See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences it can't be gainsaid that most people wish they had more time and money repeatedly tried to gainsay me, though every point I made was backed up by facts Recent Examples on the Web And if the judges are ever to gainsay the popular will with just cause, their institutional independence is the bulwark of their authority to do so. Matthew J. Franck, National Review, 12 Sep. 2021 Great poems often gainsay in the very act of saying. Matthew Bevis, The New York Review of Books, 26 Sep. 2020 Some of the yo-yoing on display has been the product of mindless, gainsaying partisanship. Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 16 Apr. 2020 Yet what’s most original in the film is Mercier’s scathing and self-scourging performance (and there’s no gainsaying the importance of Yoav’s outfit, a collarless saffron-yellow coat). Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2019 Crime waves are often linked to economic downturns, but this hypothesis is gainsaid by counterexamples, such as the relatively low crime rates during the 1930s depression and the 2008–2010 recession. Michael Shermer, Scientific American, 1 Nov. 2018 The courage and cleverness in staying in power for so long cannot be gainsaid. The Economist, 7 Sep. 2019 But there’s no gainsaying his historic significance. Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2019 Her role in passing the Affordable Care Act was absolutely heroic and should not be gainsaid. Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 18 July 2019 See More Word History Etymology Middle English yein seyen, gein-seyen "to speak in opposition to, deny," from yein-, gein- "away, back, against, in opposition to" (going back to Old English gēan- "in opposition to," or marking returning or reciprocal action, going back to Germanic gagna-) + seyen* "to say entry 1" — more at again First Known Use 14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1 gainsaid verb past tense of gainsay 1 as in denied to declare not to be true it can't be gainsaid that most people wish they had more time and money Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance denied refuted contradicted rejected disconfirmed disavowed disclaimed repudiated disaffirmed disowned disallowed negated confuted disproved rebutted negatived disputed traversed challenged disagreed (with) Antonyms & Near Antonyms acknowledged conceded admitted confirmed owned accepted allowed asserted adopted affirmed declared claimed embraced maintained avowed submitted announced averred espoused verified professed corroborated substantiated validated authenticated See More 2 as in contradicted to make an assertion that is contrary to one made by (another) repeatedly tried to gainsay me, though every point I made was backed up by facts Synonyms & Similar Words contradicted refuted questioned contested disputed disagreed (with) resisted confuted challenged rebutted opposed fought crossed Antonyms & Near Antonyms agreed (with) confirmed concurred (with) corroborated verified substantiated testified (to) attested witnessed authenticated certified avouched vouched (for) See More
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gainsay

verb

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Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

verb