Denegare

Denegare is a verb meaning to deny, refuse, or withhold a request, claim, or right. It is used mainly in formal, administrative, or legal language, and is sometimes encountered in historical or legal texts. In Romance-language contexts it has cognate forms such as Italian denegare, Spanish denegar, and Portuguese denegar.

Etymology: Denegare comes from Latin denegare, formed from de- “away” and negare “to deny.” The Latin root produced related verbs in several Romance languages. In modern Italian, denegare tends to occur in formal or legal contexts, while more common everyday terms for deny include negare and rifiutare.

Usage and nuances: Denegare denotes a formal denial of a request, claim, or permission and is usually followed by the object being denied (for example, una domanda, una licenza, un permesso). It contrasts with concedere, which means to grant. In legal or administrative writing, denegare is a standard term to indicate the rejection of a petition or application.

Examples: La corte ha denegato la richiesta di rilascio. L’ufficio ha denegato l’accesso al documento.

See also: negazione, negare, rifiutare, concedere.