negative pregnant

Negative pregnant is a denial in a pleading that appears to refute an allegation but actually implies an admission to its essential substance. It arises when the denial is framed so narrowly that it suggests the truth of the allegation in part.

For example, if a defendant is accused of theft by conversion of a friend's painting and silver necklace responds, “I did not steal the silver necklace from my friend on January 2, 2025,” the denial is pregnant with the possibility that the defendant may have stolen the necklace on another date or may have stolen the painting.

In pleading practice, such denials are considered evasive or incomplete and may be treated as insufficient under procedural rules requiring a clear and categorical response to each allegation. Courts may interpret a negative pregnant as a qualified admission rather than a full denial.

[Last reviewed in October of 2025 by the Wex Definitions Team] 

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