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. [1913 Webster] I will give … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
gainsay — (v.) contradict, c.1300, lit. say against, from O.E. gegn against (see AGAIN (Cf. again)) + SAY (Cf. say). Solitary survival of a once common prefix [Weekley], which was used to form such now obsolete compounds as gain taking taking back again,… … Etymology dictionary
gainsay — *deny, contradict, impugn, contravene, negative, traverse Analogous words: controvert, refute, confute, *disprove: oppose, combat, *resist, withstand, fight Antonyms: admit (sense 2) Contrasted words: *grant, concede, allow … New Dictionary of Synonyms
gainsay — [v] contradict combat, contravene, controvert, cross, deny, disaffirm, disagree, disclaim, disprove, dispute, fight, impugn, negate, negative, oppose, refute, repudiate, resist, traverse, withstand; concepts 52,54 Ant. agree, concur, go along … New thesaurus
gainsay — ► VERB (past and past part. gainsaid) formal ▪ deny or contradict; speak against. DERIVATIVES gainsayer noun. ORIGIN from obsolete gain against + SAY(Cf. ↑sayer) … English terms dictionary
gainsay — [gān΄sā′, gān′sā΄] vt. gainsaid [gān΄sed′] gainsaying [ME geinseggen < gein < OE gegn, against (see AGAIN) + secgan (see SAY)] 1. to deny 2. to contradict 3. to speak or act against; oppose … English World dictionary
gainsay — UK [ˌɡeɪnˈseɪ] / US verb [transitive] Word forms gainsay : present tense I/you/we/they gainsay he/she/it gainsays present participle gainsaying past tense gainsaid past participle gainsaid formal to say that someone is wrong or that something is… … English dictionary
gainsay — gain|say [ˌgeınˈseı] v past tense and past participle gainsaid [ ˈsed] [T usually in negatives] formal [Date: 1300 1400; Origin: gain against (13 16 centuries) (from Old English gegn) + say] to say that something is not true, or to disagree with… … Dictionary of contemporary English
gainsay — gain|say [ ,geın seı ] verb transitive FORMAL to say that someone is wrong or that something is not true: DENY: You may not have liked her, but no one could gainsay her determination … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
gainsay — [[t]ge͟ɪnse͟ɪ[/t]] gainsays, gainsaying, gainsaid VERB: with brd neg If there is no gainsaying something, it is true or obvious and everyone would agree with it. [FORMAL] [V n] However much people have criticised her style and some of her… … English dictionary
