Meaning of non-denial denial | Babel Free

Definitions

A statement which appears to deny that something is true, but which, when examined carefully, can be seen to have used diversion, bluster, or ambiguity to avoid making a clear, direct denial.

idiomatic

Examples

“In a classic non-denial denial, Microsoft said that such a takeover might endanger its $200 million MSNBC network partnership.”

“"If you print that, I'll sue you." A non-denial denial if ever there was one.”

“In Washington, there is no higher art form than the non-denial denial, in which politicians try to rebut a storyline without quite denying the specifics.”

“[H]e has issued a firm non-denial denial. “I didn’t write it,” he told The New York Times. “But if I had written it, I would be saying I didn’t write it.””

CEFR level