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  • Verb

gainsay

GAYN-say

Context
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My mother is considered the top baker in our family, but when Aunt Sully visits, she gainsays that widely held opinion by denying that Mom is the best. During a cake-baking contest, Sully gainsaid or went against the judge’s decision that Mom’s chocolate torte was the winner—Sully vocally voted for her own almond mousse cake instead. Unfortunately, my aunt embarrassed my mother by gainsaying or opposing the prize in front of everyone.

Quiz: What statement is an example of someone’s gainsaying something?

  • “This is utterly ridiculous and completely false!”
  • “This is definitely something worth supporting.”
  • “If you will just give me a moment, I can explain what this means.”

Memory Hook
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Gains? Aye! Who would gainsay saying Aye! to soaring stock gains?

Examples
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  • If you're going to make a mess of the game, you might as well make a Monday-night, prime-time, billion-dollar mess of it. That way no one can gainsay the problem, for it's out in the open for all to see. — Sports Illustrated
  • Who can gainsay British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has made aid to Africa a centerpiece of the G8 summit of industrial powers this week, when he calls [the widespread suffering in] Africa a scar on the world’s conscience? — Newsweek
  • But no one could gainsay the fact that most free, industrialized nations stood clear of crucial economic problems—while the Soviet Union's wheat crop failed, Red China's economy continued to falter at bare subsistence levels and Cuba proved a good showcase of how to ruin an economy in a hurry. — Time Magazine
  • The autocrat of the back stage region at the Globe [Theater] these nights is not [director] Raymond Hitchcock, although it is conceded that there would be none to gainsay him if he chose to exercise the powers of autocracy. — The New York Times

Word Ingredients
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gain against
say say

When you gainsay someone’s opinion, you “say” something “against” it.

Word Constellation
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Gainsay