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smentire

to deny

verb zmen-TEE-reh Less Common
Communication Speech

Also means

to contradict

Usage Note

Smentire specifically means to give an official denial or to prove something false — closer to 'to refute' or 'to debunk' than to simple negare ('to say no'). It takes avere as its auxiliary. Common in journalism: il ministro ha smentito le voci ('the minister denied the rumours').

Examples

"Il portavoce ha smentito la notizia."

Natural Translation

The spokesperson denied the news.

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