negative

adjective

• 1consisting in or characterized by the absence rather than the presence of distinguishing features.
• (of a statement or decision) expressing or implying denial, disagreement, or refusal:that, I take it, was a negative answer
• (of the results of a test or experiment) indicating that a certain substance is not present or a certain condition does not exist:so far all the patients have tested negative for TB
• [in combination] (of a person or their blood) not having a specified substance or condition:HIV-negative
• US informal denoting a complete lack of something:they were described as having negative vulnerability to water entry
• Grammar & Logic (of a word, clause, or proposition) expressing denial, negation, or refutation; stating or asserting that something is not the case. Contrasted with affirmative and interrogative.

• 2(of a person, attitude, or situation) not desirable or optimistic:the new tax was having a very negative effect on car sales not all the news is negative I don’t want to be negative, but I don’t see how we could do it

• 3(of a quantity) less than zero; to be subtracted from others or from zero.
• denoting a direction of decrease or reversal:the industry suffered negative growth in 1992

• 4of, containing, producing, or denoting the kind of electric charge carried by electrons.

• 5(of a photographic image) showing light and shade or colors reversed from those of the original.

• 6 Astrology relating to or denoting any of the earth or water signs, considered passive in nature.

noun

• 1a word or statement that expresses denial, disagreement, or refusal:she replied in the negative
• (often the negative) a bad, unwelcome, or unpleasant quality, characteristic, or aspect of a situation or person:confidence will not be instilled by harping solely on the negative the bus trip and the positive media have not had time to turn his significant negatives around
• Grammar a word, affix, or phrase expressing negation.
• Logicanother term for negation.

• 2a photographic image made on film or specially prepared glass that shows the light and shade or color values reversed from the original, and from which positive prints can be made.

• 3a result of a test or experiment indicating that a certain substance is not present or a certain condition does not exist:the percentage of false negatives generated by a cancer test was of great concern

• 4the part of an electric circuit that is at a lower electrical potential than another part designated as having zero electrical potential.

• 5a number less than zero.

exclamation

• no (usually used in a military context):“Any snags, Captain?” “Negative, she’s running like clockwork.”

verb

• 1reject; refuse to accept; veto:the bill was negatived by 130 votes to 129
• disprove; contradict:the insurer’s main arguments were negatived by Lawrence

• 2render ineffective; neutralize:should criminal law allow consent to negative what would otherwise be a crime?