Leugneten

Leugneten is the simple past tense (Präteritum) form of the German verb leugnen, which means to deny or refuse to admit something. It is used in narrative or formal writing to describe a denial that occurred in the past.

Grammatical notes: Leugneten is used with plural subjects in the Präteritum. The corresponding forms include ich leugnete, du leugnetest, er leugnete, wir leugneten, ihr leugnetet, sie leugneten. In everyday speech, speakers more often use the perfect tense with haben, producing forms like hat geleugnet. This makes leugneten common in written reports and historical accounts, while the perfect is common in spoken language.

Usage and context: Leugneten appears in contexts such as legal proceedings, journalism, or historical narratives where past denials are described. It conveys that a denial occurred but does not imply whether the denial was ultimately believed or proven false.

Examples: Die Angeklagten leugneten die Vorwürfe. Die Zeugen leugneten die Aussagen der Beschuldigten. In der Berichterstattung könnte man schreiben: Die Regierung leugnete jegliche Verstrickung, während nachfolgende Untersuchungen Zweifel an dieser Behauptung zogen.

Related terms: Leugnen is the infinitive related verb, and Leugner (denier) is a related noun form. The perfect tense of leugnen is hat geleugnet, used to describe a denial that has occurred.