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desmentir

to deny

verb des-men-TEER Less Common
Communication Responses

Also means

to refute

Usage Note

Desmentir means to deny or contradict a claim, especially publicly: el ministro desmintió las acusaciones ('the minister denied the accusations'). It is a stem-changing -ir verb (e-ie in the present: desmiente, desmienten) like its root mentir ('to lie'). Unlike negar ('to deny'), desmentir specifically implies contradicting something already stated, making it the go-to verb in political and journalistic contexts.

Examples

"El portavoz desmintió el rumor."

Natural Translation

The spokesperson denied the rumor.

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