denial and dental differ by a single letter, buried far enough into the word to be easy to miss. denial means “the act of refusing to comply (as with a request)”. dental means “of or relating to the teeth”. dental is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/dɪˈnaɪəl/
1.n.the act of refusing to comply (as with a request)
“it resulted in a complete denial of his privileges”
2.n.the act of asserting that something alleged is not true
3.n.(psychiatry) a defense mechanism that denies painful thoughts
/ˈdɛntəl/
1.adj.of or relating to the teeth
“dental floss”
2.adj.of or relating to dentistry
“dental student”
3.n.a consonant articulated with the tip of the tongue near the gum ridge
| denial | dental | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /dɪˈnaɪəl/ | /ˈdɛntəl/ |
| Said | di-NAHY-uhl | DEN-tuhl |
| Syllables | 3 | 2 |
| Letters | 6 | 6 |
| Parts of speech | noun | adjective, noun |
| Senses | 5 | 3 |
| How common | Familiar | Common |
| Synonyms | none recorded | none recorded |
Full entry for denial · Full entry for dental · More comparisons