Adjacent Words

Gainsay definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

GAINSA'Y, v.t. [Eng. against.] To contradict; to oppose in words; to deny or declare not to be true what another says; to controvert; to dispute; applied to persons, or to propositions, declarations or facts.
I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. Luke 21.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: take exception to; "She challenged his claims" [syn: challenge, dispute, gainsay]

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb (gainsaid; gainsaying; gainsays) Etymology: Middle English gainsayen, from gain- against (from Old English g?an-) + sayen to say — more at again Date: 14th century 1. to declare to be untrue or invalid 2. contradict, oppose Synonyms: see deny • gainsayer noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. (past and past part. gainsaid) archaic or literary deny, contradict. Derivatives: gainsayer n. Etymology: ME f. obs. gain- against f. ON gegn straight f. Gmc + SAY

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Gainsay Gain`say" (? or ?; 277), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Gainsaid (? or ?); p. pr. & vb. n. Gainsaying.] [OE. geinseien, ageinseien. See Again, and Say to utter.] To contradict; to deny; to controvert; to dispute; to forbid. I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. --Luke xxi. 15. The just gods gainsay That any drop thou borrow'dst from thy mother, My sacred aunt, should by my mortal sword Be drained. --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(gainsays, gainsaying, gainsaid) If there is no gainsaying something, it is true or obvious and everyone would agree with it. (FORMAL) There is no gainsaying the fact that they have been responsible for a truly great building. = deny VERB: with brd-neg, V n

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

gan-sa, gan'-sa (anteipon, antilego, "to say or speak against"): Occurs as anteipon, "not .... able to withstand or to gainsay" (Lu 21:15); as antilego, "a disobedient and gainsaying people" (Ro 10:21); /APC 2Esdras 5:29, contradicebant; /APC Judith 8:28, anthistemi; /APC Judith 12:14, antero; Additions to Esther 9:13, antitasso; /APC 1Macc 14:44, anteipon.

Gainsayer, antilego (Tit 1:9, "exhort and convince (the Revised Version (British and American) "convict") the gainsayers").

Gainsaying, antilogia (Jude 1:11, "the gain-saying of Korah"); antilogia is Septuagint for meribhah (Nu 20:13); anantirrhetos, "without contradiction" (Ac 10:29, "without gainsaying").

The Revised Version (British and American) has "gainsaid" for "spoken against" (Ac 19:36); "not gainsaying" for "not answering again" (Tit 2:9); "gainsaying" for "contradiction" Heb 12:3).

W. L. Walker

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. Contradict, deny, controvert, dispute.

Moby Thesaurus

abjure, assert the contrary, be contrary to, belie, call into question, challenge, combat, contest, contradict, contravene, controvert, counter, cross, deny, disaffirm, disallow, disavow, disclaim, disown, disprove, dispute, fight, forswear, impugn, join issue upon, negate, negative, not accept, not admit, nullify, oppose, oppugn, rebut, recant, refuse to admit, refute, reject, renounce, repudiate, resist, retract, revoke, take back, take issue with, traverse, withstand