gainsay

/ˈgeɪnˌseɪ/

Other forms: gainsaid; gainsaying; gainsays

Gainsay, a verb, means "contradict" or "speak out against." When you challenge authority, you gainsay, as in teachers don't like it when unruly students gainsay them.

Gainsay comes from an Old English word that means "contradict" or "say against," as in, "no one dared gainsay the principal, who is well-known for giving detention to students who so much as frown at him." If you know someone who constantly corrects others, tells them that they're wrong, and says, "That's not true," more than anyone else, you have first-hand experience with the art of the gainsay.

Definitions of gainsay

1. verb

   take exception to
   synonyms: challenge, dispute

   types:

   call

   challenge the sincerity or truthfulness of

   call

   challenge (somebody) to make good on a statement; charge with or censure for an offense

   type of:

   contend, contest, repugn

   make the subject of dispute, contention, or litigation