kiistää

Kiistää is a Finnish verb meaning to deny, refute, or dispute. It is a transitive verb used of statements, claims, accusations, or facts, and it describes the act of challenging the truth or validity of something asserted by someone else. In everyday language as well as in journalism, law and politics, kiistää is used to publicly contest or reject allegations or positions. The related noun kiista means a dispute or controversy.

Conjugation and forms: in the present tense the forms are minä kiistän, sinä kiistät, hän kiistää, me kiistämme, te kiistätte, he kiistävät. The imperfect form is kiisti, and the past participle is kiistänyt, which appears in perfect constructions such as olen kiistänyt. For example: Hän kiisti syytökset. Hallitus kiisti väitteet median raportoinnista.

Usage notes: kiistää often implies a substantive argument about the facts or merit of a claim, rather than a vague denial. It is commonly used in formal contexts as well as ordinary conversation when someone actively disputes or rejects a particular assertion. It can contrast with kieltää, which more directly means to deny or forbid, while kiistää emphasizes disputing the claim’s accuracy or basis.

Etymology and related forms: kiistää is derived from kiista, meaning a dispute. Related verbs include kiistäminen (the act of denying or disputing) and kiisto (a dispute). The term is part of a family of words concerning disagreement and verification of statements.