Glossary of Linguistic Terms

Presupposition Denial

Definition: 

A presupposition denial is a noncontradictory negation of a presupposition in a clause by an assertion in another clause.

Examples: 

In the utterance John doesn’t regret doing a useless Ph.D., because, in fact, he never did do one, the presupposition "John did a useless Ph.D." is denied by the second clause.

See Also: 
Source: 
194–195

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