deniability

[ dih-nahy-uh-bil-uh-tee ]

noun

1. the ability to deny something, as knowledge of or connection with an illegal activity.

Word History and Origins

Origin of deniability¹

First recorded in 1970–75; deniable + -ity

Example Sentences

When Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016, America still had a sliver of plausible deniability.

From Slate

As he becomes even more disinhibited with age, Trump has been less capable of wrapping these white supremacist views in terms of plausible deniability, instead raving about his utterly false belief that people from non-European nations have "bad genes."

From Salon

But they also fail a basic test of democratic leadership: “They like to preserve a level of deniability. They want to be able to make outrageous claims in some contexts, but not be held accountable for them in other contexts,” she said.

From Salon

NAR leaders "like to preserve a level of deniability. They want to be able to make outrageous claims in some contexts, but not be held accountable for them in other contexts."

From Salon

Which is an important thing in all these operations that Russia does, plausible deniability.

From Salon