1.   Armato shunned outright denials in favor of a more creative explanation.

2.   After the high-level officials had met to discuss the issue, Khan held a briefing for reporters, and was cautious in his responses, avoiding outright denial.

3.   But he stopped short of an outright denial that Alpirez as an individual may have been a paid informant of the CIA.

4.   But the first lady is refusing to issue the outright denial that would make the story go away.

5.   Others even issued outright denials.

6.   Others face outright denial of exit visas even though they have received U.S. visas, he said.

7.   Outright denial of the Holocaust is a crime in Germany.

8.   Israel denied a role but Washington stopped short of an outright denial.

9.   Washington, however, stopped short of an outright denial.

10.   While Israel flatly denied any role, Washington stopped short of an outright denial.