term:

Denial

denial n

1 : refusal to grant or allow something [ of due process] [ of a motion]
2 a : an assertion that an allegation is false
b : a defense asserting that an opposing party's allegations are false compare affirmative defense at defense, traverse NOTE: Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, allegations that are not denied are taken as admitted, and a statement that a party has insufficient knowledge or information to form a belief as to the truth of an allegation is taken as a denial. A denial must sufficiently state which allegations or parts of allegations are being denied.

ar·gu·men·ta·tive denial
[Ä r-gyə-men-tə-tiv-]
: a denial that asserts facts inconsistent with an allegation made by an adverse party

general denial
1 : a denial of all the allegations in a complaint
2 : a denial of all the allegations of a particular paragraph or group of paragraphs in a complaint

specific denial
1 : general denial in this entry
2 : a denial of parts of an allegation in a complaint

Source: Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law ©1996. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Published under license with Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.