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negative

Syllabification: (neg·a·tive)
Pronunciation: /ˈnegətiv/
Translate negative | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of 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

[with object]
  • 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?

Derivatives

negatively

adverb

negativeness

noun

Origin:

late Middle English: from late Latin negativus, from negare 'deny' (see negate)

negative in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of negative in the British & World English dictionary
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