What does the word negative meaning

Last Update: Jan 03, 2023

This is a question our experts keep getting from time to time. Now, we have got the complete detailed explanation and answer for everyone, who is interested!


Asked by: Leif Wisozk

Score: 4.3/5
(64 votes)

(2) : denoting the absence or the contradictory of something nontoxic is a negative term. (3) : expressing negation negative particles such as no and not. c : adverse, unfavorable the reviews were mostly negative. 2a : lacking positive qualities especially : disagreeable a colorless negative personality.

What does the word negative mean above?

negative. / (ˈnɛɡətɪv) / adjective. expressing or meaning a refusal or deniala negative answer. lacking positive or affirmative qualities, such as enthusiasm, interest, or optimism.

What is the definition of being negative?

Here is a definition of negativity from the web dictionary: “Negativity is a tendency to be downbeat, disagreeable, and skeptical. It’s a pessimistic attitude that always expects the worst. Negative outcomes are bad outcomes like losing a game, getting a disease, suffering an injury, or getting something stolen.”

What is a better word for negative?

To contradict; to withsay; to deny. … In this page you can discover 106 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for negative, like: cynical, negativism, detrimental, contradictory, nullifying, pessimistic, disavowal, abrogating, cool, electronegative and double-negative.

What is a negative example?

A negative is defined as a person or thing that refuses or denies, or is undesirable, unwanted or disliked. An example of a negative is the «no» response given by a person. An example of a negative is a cab driver who gets lost all the time.

35 related questions found

Is couldn’t a negative word?

Both «couldn’t» and «hardly» are negatives. Try instead, «I could hardly wait» or «I couldn’t wait.» Both «did not» and «barely» are negative.

How do you use the word negative?

  1. [S] [T] You’re so negative. ( CK)
  2. [S] [T] Don’t be so negative. ( CK)
  3. [S] [T] Tom’s blood type is O negative. ( CK)
  4. [S] [T] Why does Tom have such a negative attitude? ( …
  5. [S] [T] His reply was negative. ( …
  6. [S] [T] The results were negative. ( …
  7. [S] [T] Tom replied in the negative. ( …
  8. [S] [T] Why are you being so negative? (

Who is negative person?

Those who are negative are likely to be over sensitive to criticism, even taking compliments the wrong way. They interpret innocent remarks as being condescending or rude. For example, a negative person may find jokes about short people offensive because they are not very tall themselves.

What are the negative traits of a person?

The list of bad human traits is long. It includes: arrogance, deception, delusion, dishonesty, ego, envy, greed, hatred, immorality, lying, selfishness, unreliability, violence, etc.

Why am I such a negative person?

Negative thoughts can also occur because of stress. According to WebMD, people who are stressed experience «constant worrying» and «being pessimistic or only seeing the negative side.» Other symptoms of stress include racing thoughts, inability to concentrate, poor judgment, insomnia and headaches.

What are the negative attitudes of a person?

You may want to describe a person’s negativity or the negative attitude of a character in a book.

  • Aggressive.
  • Arrogant.
  • Belligerent.
  • Bigoted.
  • Blunt.
  • Callous.
  • Critical.
  • Cynical.

What is negative language?

Negative language is non-communication.

If you don’t like something, can’t understand something, don’t want to do something, the listener, employee, or leader is at a loss to understand what you’re talking about. “I wouldn’t do it that way.” Well, that’s helpful!

What is the meaning of negative side?

adj. 1 expressing or meaning a refusal or denial. a negative answer. 2 lacking positive or affirmative qualities, such as enthusiasm, interest, or optimism. 3 showing or tending towards opposition or resistance.

What makes a word negative?

A negative is a word or phrase that shows you reject or disagree with something. … Words like never and nobody are negatives too—they just express disagreement in a different way.

What is not a bad double negative?

In practice, though, “not bad” is usually a way of saying “quite good.” This double negative is therefore a form of ironic understatement, sometimes known as litotes.

Is Cannot a double negative?

A double negative is usually created by combining the negative form of a verb (e.g., cannot, did not, have not) with a negative pronoun (e.g., nothing, nobody), a negative adverb (e.g., never, hardly), or a negative conjunction (e.g., neither/nor). My daughter Chantelle wouldn’t shout at nobody.

Why is double negative bad?

Using two negatives usually turns the thought or sentence into a positive one. Double negatives are generally discouraged in English because they are considered to be poor grammar and they can be confusing.

Is negative a good thing?

While positive emotions such as gratitude, happiness, and love make life worth living, a dash of negativity can be a helpful spice in the recipe for a good life. So accentuate the positive, but don’t eliminate the negative.

What is the negative attitude?

Negative attitudes are punished to discourage the same action in the future. If we think positive thoughts we will surely experience such emotions as joy, love, gratitude, peace, and hope. If we think negative thoughts we will have negative feelings such as anger, disappointment, irritation, envy, etc.

What is the negative thought?

Negative thoughts are thoughts that cause us to slip, lose hope or that stand in the way of improving your health. A negative thought is usually a criticism of oneself. Type of Negative Thought.

What is an example of negative language?

For example: «We can’t do that» becomes «That’s going to be a problem, but here’s what we CAN do instead.» «We can’t start until we get requirements» becomes «Please give us the requirements so we can start.» «We can’t help you unless you log off» becomes «Please log off so we can help you.»

What are 3 examples of negative communication?

There are three main types of negative communication: passive, aggressive and passive aggressive. Few people exhibit these patterns in the extreme – those who do have significant psychopathology. But chances are, you and others around you occasionally slip into some negative behaviours.

What is negative slant language?

adj. 1 expressing or meaning a refusal or denial. a negative answer. 2 lacking positive or affirmative qualities, such as enthusiasm, interest, or optimism. 3 showing or tending towards opposition or resistance.

What do you call someone that is always negative?

The word is pessimist, a person who expects the worst. Mr X is a pessimist.

What do you call someone who is constantly negative?

curmudgeon /kərˈməjən/ noun A bad-tempered or surly person. … (pejorative, informal) A person who is considered excessively and disagreeably pessimistic. A less aggressive synonym, similar to Benjamin’s answer.

I think an occasional rest-day is as necessary to the tired brain as the photographer’s dark room is to the development of the negative impression — without it the brain would, indeed, record a «_negative impression_.» ❋ Various (N/A)

And the nearer such part or section may be to the negative pole in the positive post, so much the more _negative_ it will be. ❋ Daniel Clark (N/A)

Its negative pole is the _negative electrode_ in contact with the positive end or pole of magnet No. 2, and its positive pole is the _wire end of the cord_ in the negative post. ❋ Daniel Clark (N/A)

So it is still true that on the negative half of the circuit, the _negative_ qualities _diminish_ as we advance towards the central point just as on the positive half, the _positive_ qualities diminish regularly towards the central point, as stated above. ❋ Daniel Clark (N/A)

Rendering the small ball B inductric and _negative_, negative sparks alone occurred up to 0.40; then spark and brush at 0.42; whilst from 0.44 and upwards the noisy negative brush alone took place. ❋ Michael Faraday (1829)

«Positive RNA viruses package positive RNA into their viral particles, while negative RNA viruses package * negative* RNA into particles.» ❋ Unknown (2010)

T h e word «negative» in negative spaces is a bit unfortunate because it carries, well, a negative connotation. ❋ Unknown (2009)

The phrase «negative slave» seems incredibly powerful to me. ❋ Pictureplane (2011)

Many of us learned from our families to deny what we label negative emotions. ❋ Melody Beattie (2010)

Let’s not be scared off by the connotations of the term negative ad. ❋ Unknown (2009)

The term negative forces, refers to both the General Laurent Nkunda leading the rebel forces in Democratic Republic of Congo and the Rwandan Hutu rebels in the eastern part. ❋ Unknown (2007)

Present-day terminology employs the rubric negative symptoms (51, 232), but traditionally these behaviors have been termed emotional blunting (116, 552). ❋ Michael Alan Taylor (1993)

These are the negative advantages, if the term negative is applicable, which would probably have resulted from prompt movements after Corinth fell into the possession of the National forces. ❋ David Widger (N/A)

In fact, the term negative seems to have become codespeak for knowledgeable and realistic. ❋ Unknown (2010)

Jamal: Yo you wanna go to the [the gallery].
Jay: Negative…
Or you could say Negativity…
[Jena]: I know you like tha [bul] Jerome!
Mia: Negativity. He looks like a monkey… ❋ E-RoC-Da-bELLs (2005)

Example 1) I made a negative comment about the smell of her [dirtbox] and she [cried].
Example 2) That’s a [negative, Ghostrider]. ❋ KYX! (2003)

After three [bleaching] treatments and four hours a week [under the sun] [lamps], Josh has become a negative. ❋ Atves Zeran (2007)

«Hey, shall we all walk in to the pub [half naked]?»
Response: «[Neg Neg], I’m not [feelin’ that] shit» ❋ Dagsy Parr (2007)

Everywhere there is an insecure pretty girl, there is some guy [negging].
[Negging] can be so [subtle], it’s pratically undetectable.
I was [wondering] why that guy was complimenting me while putting me down. He was negging of course. ❋ MadamexXx (2009)

Person 1: I don’t get why people feel the need to [put me down] as soon as they look at me.
Person 2: They’re Negging you. They probably see how you carry yourself and, based on internal insecurities that they refuse to acknowledge, arrive at the conclusion that you’re too confident and need to be knocked down [a peg].
Person 1: But I’ve never even met them before. And I’m not even as confident as I’d like to be.
Person 2: Doesn’t matter if you are or not, you look it to them, that’s what they perceive and hence that is what they are going to act on. Maybe [stroke up] a conversation with them and try to clear that up. ❋ 2kTriggerz (2020)

[Fire force] [negs] [one piece].(Fire force is better than one piece) ❋ Cudlyyy (2021)

— ‘I just might start [crying] /[neg]’
— ‘[i’m sorry] was that /neg? :(‘ ❋ Leximay003 (2020)

The classic neg
[pua] — «you have beautiful nails, are they real?»
(9+) -«not really»
pua — «Oh, I guess thats still cool»
pua — «that’s really cute, your nose wiggles when you speak»
(9+) -«no it doesn’t»
pua — «ha ha, [there it goes] again, sorry, its just really cute»
«I just kept tossing neg after neg at that 10 standing by the bar, and she loved it, she was giving me crazy [kino]» ❋ Ryder (2005)

Negativity is an [infestation] on [urban dictionary] ❋ Ucuntu And That Faggot Penguin (2019)

Recent Examples on the Web



Now, that masking period is a strong recommendation, unless an individual tests negative on back-to-back tests taken at least one day apart.


Rong-gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2023





The approach teaches you to restructure your negative and irrational thoughts around money into more neutral or positive ones.


Jocelyn Solis-moreira, Popular Science, 4 Apr. 2023





Just Looking to Get More Info on You? Initial reaction online to GM’s move skewed decidedly negative.


Sebastian Blanco, Car and Driver, 2 Apr. 2023





Amber Lee, Brawley’s campaign manager, said the level of public vandalism creates a negative, discouraging environment for candidates and for voters.


Emily Goodykoontz, Anchorage Daily News, 2 Apr. 2023





According to research from Yale, people with negative attitudes about aging shorten their life expectancy by 7.5 years.


L’oreal Thompson Payton, Fortune Well, 1 Apr. 2023





Viewers’ initial reactions to the trial appeared to skew negative, with some seeing Paltrow as the latest example of a celebrity who is trying to avoid accountability.


Uwa Ede-osifo, NBC News, 31 Mar. 2023





Though most of the comments on the post were positive, some users felt the need to give their negative opinions on her looks.


Rosa Sanchez, Harper’s BAZAAR, 30 Mar. 2023





That way, potentially negative news doesn’t derail the conversation or serve as the last thing that sticks in concerned clients’ minds.


Paolo Confino, Fortune, 30 Mar. 2023




But some designers don’t see having a diminutive dozing space as a negative.


Anna Fixsen, ELLE Decor, 7 Apr. 2023





Trump’s negatives with Republicans (19%) are nearly three times worse than those of DeSantis (7%).


Chris Pandolfo, Fox News, 4 Apr. 2023





When the judge Florence Y. Pan asked if agents had a fiduciary duty to secure their writers the highest possible advances, Walsh responded in the negative.


Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2022





Overwhelmingly, the comments in response — almost 2,000 of them — were in the negative.


Will Carless, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2023





In contrast to the themes of balance in the first quarter moon, the third quarter is about detaching yourself from the negative to prepare for transformation.


Aliza Pelto, Women’s Health, 17 Mar. 2023





The social mandate was to be carbon neutral or carbon negative, and scalable.


Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 7 Mar. 2023





Each end of tape has two contacts, one positive (+), one negative (-).


Bradley Ford, Popular Mechanics, 28 Feb. 2023





The photographs were known as Ambrotypes, and consisted of a glass negative developed so the silver deposit forming the picture was white, and then backed with black, so the picture looked like a positive, the photo being on the back of the glass.


San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Feb. 2023




Travelers also need to negative COVID-19 test within one day of flying to return to the United States.


Dallas News, 7 Feb. 2022





Regardless, the outcome of this trial might not impact the ex-couple’s career prospects in all that negative a way, Engelmayer predicted.


Victoria Bekiempis, Vulture, 26 May 2022





On the way to scoring a 25-19, 25-9, 25-4 victory, UW was not blocked once, held the Bobcats to negative hitting in each set and in the final set tied a program record for fewest points allowed in a set.


Mark Stewart, Journal Sentinel, 2 Dec. 2022





And passengers boarding international flights to the U.S. no longer need to test negative a day before departure or prove recovery from Covid in the past 90 days.


Allison Pohle, WSJ, 2 Aug. 2022





But with sales growth expected to go from triple digits in 2021 to negative this year, shares have tanked to a record low recently.


Yueqi Yang, Time, 20 Apr. 2022





In response, Moody’s Investors Service recently lowered its outlook for the sector to negative.


Nick Sargen, Forbes, 20 Sep. 2021





Eversource Energy executives are on the defensive after two ratings agencies cut the credit outlook to negative for Connecticut Light & Power, citing its run-ins with state regulators over the utility’s response to Tropical Storm Isaias last year.


Stephen Singer, courant.com, 2 Aug. 2021





Positive antibody test results, which are by no means an absolute guarantee of immunity, will be accepted to enter, as will negative COVID-19 tests taken up to seven days prior to arrival.


Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2021



See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘negative.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Other forms: negatives; negatived; negativing

Negative means focused on what is bad or lacking. A negative ad tells you bad things about the competition. A negative person loves to complain.

In math, a negative number is less than zero. People who see the glass half empty have a negative outlook. Ask your mom for ice cream and receive an answer in the negative? Don’t be too negative back to her, or it’ll be a while before you have another chance at ice cream.

Definitions of negative

  1. adjective

    characterized by or displaying negation or denial or opposition or resistance; having no positive features

    “a
    negative outlook on life”

    “a colorless
    negative personality”

    “a
    negative evaluation”

    “a
    negative reaction to an advertising campaign”

    Synonyms:

    destructive

    causing destruction or much damage

    pessimistic

    expecting the worst possible outcome

    antagonistic, counter

    indicating opposition or resistance

    perverse

    marked by a disposition to oppose and contradict

    unsupportive

    not furnishing support or assistance

  2. adjective

    expressing or consisting of a negation or refusal or denial

    Synonyms:

    dissentient, dissenting, dissident

    disagreeing, especially with a majority

    unfavorable, unfavourable

    not encouraging or approving or pleasing

    disinclined

    unwilling because of mild dislike or disapproval

  3. adjective

    not indicating the presence of microorganisms or disease or a specific condition

    “the HIV test was
    negative

    synonyms:

    disconfirming

    Gram-negative

    (of bacteria) being of or relating to a bacterium that does not retain the violet stain used in Gram’s method

  4. adjective

    having a negative charge

    “electrons are
    negative

    synonyms:

    electronegative, negatively charged

    charged

    of a particle or body or system; having a net amount of positive or negative electric charge

  5. “he answered in the
    negative

  6. verb

    vote against; refuse to endorse; refuse to assent

  7. adjective

    involving disadvantage or harm

    synonyms:

    minus

    disadvantageous

    constituting a disadvantage

  8. adjective

    having the quality of something harmful or unpleasant

    “ran a
    negative campaign”

    Synonyms:

    bad

    having undesirable or negative qualities

  9. adjective

    designed or tending to discredit, especially without positive or helpful suggestions

    negative criticism”

    synonyms:

    damaging

    destructive

    causing destruction or much damage

  10. adjective

    reckoned in a direction opposite to that regarded as positive

    negative interest rates”

    see moresee less

    Antonyms:

    positive

    reckoned, situated or tending in the direction which naturally or arbitrarily is taken to indicate increase or progress or onward motion

  11. “a
    negative number”

    Synonyms:

    minus

    on the negative side or lower end of a scale

  12. noun

    a piece of photographic film showing an image with light and shade or colors reversed

DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘negative’.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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Princeton’s WordNetRate this definition:2.4 / 7 votes

  1. negativenoun

    a reply of denial

    «he answered in the negative»

  2. negativeadjective

    a piece of photographic film showing an image with light and shade or colors reversed

  3. negativeadjective

    characterized by or displaying negation or denial or opposition or resistance; having no positive features

    «a negative outlook on life»; «a colorless negative personality»; «a negative evaluation»; «a negative reaction to an advertising campaign»

  4. negativeadjective

    expressing or consisting of a negation or refusal or denial

  5. negativeadjective

    having the quality of something harmful or unpleasant

    «ran a negative campaign»; «delinquents retarded by their negative outlook on life»

  6. negative, disconfirmingadjective

    not indicating the presence of microorganisms or disease or a specific condition

    «the HIV test was negative»

  7. negativeadjective

    reckoned in a direction opposite to that regarded as positive

    «negative interest rates»

  8. negativeadjective

    less than zero

    «a negative number»

  9. damaging, negativeadjective

    designed or tending to discredit, especially without positive or helpful suggestions

    «negative criticism»

  10. negative, electronegative, negatively chargedadjective

    having a negative charge

    «electrons are negative»

  11. minus, negativeverb

    involving disadvantage or harm

    «minus (or negative) factors»

  12. veto, blackball, negativeverb

    vote against; refuse to endorse; refuse to assent

    «The President vetoed the bill»

WiktionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 5 votes

  1. negativenoun

    refusal or withholding of assents; veto, prohibition

  2. negativenoun

    an image in which dark areas represent light ones, and the converse

  3. negativenoun

    a word that indicates negation

  4. negativenoun

    a negative quantity

  5. negativenoun

    A rep performed with weight in which the muscle begins at maximum contraction and is slowly extended; a movement performed using only the eccentric phase of muscle movement.

  6. negativeverb

    To veto

  7. negativeverb

    To contradict

  8. negativeverb

    To disprove

  9. negativeadjective

    not positive or neutral

  10. negativeadjective

    of electrical charge of an electron and related particles

  11. negativeadjective

    of number, less than zero

  12. negativeadjective

    denying a proposition

  13. negativeadjective

    damaging; undesirable; unfavourable

  14. negativeadjective

    pessimistic; not tending to see the bright side of things. (Often used pejoratively.)

  15. negativeadjective

    bad, unwanted, disagreeable, potentially damaging, to be avoided, excessively difficult; (often precedes ‘energy’, ‘feeling’, ’emotion’ or ‘thought’).

  16. Etymology: From negativus, from negare; see negate.

Samuel Johnson’s DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

  1. Negativeadjective

    Etymology: negatif, Fr. negativus, Latin.

    1. Denying; contrary to affirmative.2. Implying only the absence of something.

    There is another way of denying Christ with our mouths, which is negative, when we do not acknowledge and confess him.
    Robert South, Sermons.

    Consider the necessary connection that is between the negative and positive part of our duty.
    John Tillotson, Serm. 1.

    3. Having the power to withhold, though not to compel.

    Denying me any power of a negative voice as king, they are not ashamed to seek to deprive me of the liberty of using my reason with a good conscience.
    Charles I .

  2. Negativenoun

    1. A proposition by which something is denied.

    Of negatives we have far the least certainty; and they are usually hardest, and many times impossible to be proved.
    John Tillotson, Serm. 1.

    2. A particle of denial; as, not.

    A purer substance is defin’d,
    But by an heap of negatives combin’d;
    Ask what a spirit is, you’ll hear them cry,
    It hath no matter, no mortality.
    John Cleveland, Poems.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

  1. Negativeadjective

    denying; implying, containing, or asserting denial, negation or refusal; returning the answer no to an inquiry or request; refusing assent; as, a negative answer; a negative opinion; — opposed to affirmative

  2. Negativeadjective

    not positive; without affirmative statement or demonstration; indirect; consisting in the absence of something; privative; as, a negative argument; a negative morality; negative criticism

  3. Negativeadjective

    asserting absence of connection between a subject and a predicate; as, a negative proposition

  4. Negativeadjective

    of or pertaining to a picture upon glass or other material, in which the lights and shades of the original, and the relations of right and left, are reversed

  5. Negativeadjective

    metalloidal; nonmetallic; — contracted with positive or basic; as, the nitro group is negative

  6. Negativenoun

    a proposition by which something is denied or forbidden; a conception or term formed by prefixing the negative particle to one which is positive; an opposite or contradictory term or conception

  7. Negativenoun

    a word used in denial or refusal; as, not, no

  8. Negativenoun

    the refusal or withholding of assents; veto

  9. Negativenoun

    that side of a question which denies or refuses, or which is taken by an opposing or denying party; the relation or position of denial or opposition; as, the question was decided in the negative

  10. Negativenoun

    a picture upon glass or other material, in which the light portions of the original are represented in some opaque material (usually reduced silver), and the dark portions by the uncovered and transparent or semitransparent ground of the picture

  11. Negativenoun

    the negative plate of a voltaic or electrolytic cell

  12. Negativeverb

    to prove unreal or intrue; to disprove

  13. Negativeverb

    to reject by vote; to refuse to enact or sanction; as, the Senate negatived the bill

  14. Negativeverb

    to neutralize the force of; to counteract

  15. Etymology: [F. ngatif, L. negativus, fr. negare to deny. See Negation.]

FreebaseRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

  1. Negative

    In photography, a negative is an image, usually on a strip or sheet of transparent plastic film, in which the lightest areas of the photographed subject appear darkest and the darkest areas appear lightest. This reversed order occurs because of the extremely light-sensitive chemicals a camera film must use to capture an image quickly enough for ordinary picture-taking, which are darkened, rather than bleached, by exposure to light and subsequent photographic processing.
    In the case of color negatives, the colors are also reversed into their respective complementary colors. Typical color negatives have an overall dull orange tint due to an automatic color-masking feature that ultimately results in improved color reproduction.
    Negatives are normally used to make positive prints on photographic paper by projecting the negative onto the paper with a photographic enlarger or making a contact print. The paper is also darkened in proportion to its exposure to light, so a second reversal results which restores light and dark to their correct order.
    Negatives were once commonly made on a thin sheet of glass rather than a plastic film, and some of the earliest negatives were made on paper.
    It is incorrect to call a photograph a negative solely because it is on a transparent material. Transparent prints can be made by printing a negative onto special positive film, as is done to make traditional motion picture film prints for use in theaters. Some films used in cameras are designed to be developed by reversal processing, which produces the final positive, instead of a negative, on the original film. Positives on film or glass are known as transparencies or diapositives, and if mounted in small frames designed for use in a slide projector or magnifying viewer they are commonly called slides.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

  1. Negative

    neg′a-tiv, adj. that denies or refuses—opp. to Affirmative: implying absence: that stops, hinders, neutralises—opp. to Positive: in photography, exhibiting the reverse, as dark for light, light for dark: (logic) denying the connection between a subject and a predicate: (algebra) noting a quantity to be subtracted.—n. a word or statement by which something is denied: the right or act of saying ‘no,’ or of refusing assent: the side of a question or the decision which denies what is affirmed: in photography, an image on glass or other medium, in which the lights and shades are the opposite of those in nature, used for printing positive impressions from on paper, &c.: (gram.) a word that denies.—v.t. to prove the contrary: to reject by vote.—adv. Neg′atively.—ns. Neg′ativeness, Neg′ativism, Negativ′ity.—adj. Neg′atory, expressing denial.—Negative bath, a silver solution in which photographic negatives are placed to be sensitised; Negative electricity, electricity with a relatively low potential, electricity such as is developed by rubbing resinous bodies with flannel, opposite to that obtained by rubbing glass; Negative quantity (math.), a quantity with a minus sign ( — ) before it, indicating that it is either to be subtracted, or reckoned in an opposite direction from some other with a plus sign; Negative sign, the sign ( — or minus) of subtraction. [L. negativusnegāre, to deny.]

The Nuttall EncyclopediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

  1. Negative

    in photography a picture of an object in which the lights and shadows are reversed, so that the shady part appears white and the light in it appears dark.

Military Dictionary and GazetteerRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

  1. negative

    This term is sometimes used to express the result of measures or enterprises which, though not entirely successful, are not productive of serious or mischievous consequences. Hence the British expeditions to Spain and Walcheren may be considered as having had negative success.

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word ‘negative’ in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2374

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word ‘negative’ in Written Corpus Frequency: #1803

  3. Adjectives Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word ‘negative’ in Adjectives Frequency: #295

How to pronounce negative?

How to say negative in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of negative in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of negative in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of negative in a Sentence

  1. Norman Levine:

    We’re not negative, we just think we’re long, long overdue a correction (in North American markets).

  2. Stephanie Ali:

    We’re going to see county election offices have to make some really difficult choices on what to spend their limited money on, they’re going to have to potentially hire fewer poll workers which means all kinds of negative impacts for our voters.

  3. White House:

    Look back from shortly before the president launched his campaign to now, the accuracy rate of pundits’ negative predictions about him or his strategies is dismal, our MO, by contrast, has aged well: Tune out the noise, do the work, deliver; and remember that the president knows the American people and they know him.

  4. Kyle Pomerleau:

    It does throw a little bit of wrench into things, to the extent that individuals are relying on the refund any delay is going to be a negative.

  5. Ekram Ahmed:

    The vendors want foot soldiers on the ground, in multiple geographies, to distribute the full-spectrum of coronavirus services: vaccines, vaccination certifications and negative COVID tests.

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Translations for negative

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • سلبي, صورة سالبةArabic
  • estrictament negatiu, negatiuCatalan, Valencian
  • negativní, záporný, negativCzech
  • negyddolWelsh
  • negativDanish
  • Negativ, schlecht, NegativfilmGerman
  • αρνητικόGreek
  • negativaEsperanto
  • negativoSpanish
  • negatibo, ezkorBasque
  • منفیPersian
  • kielto, negatiivinen, kielteinen, veto, kieltosana, vahingollinen, luku, suure, negatiivi, veto-oikeus, vastustusFinnish
  • strictement négatif, film négatif, négatifFrench
  • diúltach, claonchlóIrish
  • שלילי, תשליל, נגטיב, שליליתHebrew
  • नकारात्मकHindi
  • negatívHungarian
  • ժխտականArmenian
  • negatifIndonesian
  • negativa, negativoItalian
  • 負, 否定, ネガフィルム, 否定的なJapanese
  • 음, 소극적인Korean
  • negansLatin
  • negatief, minDutch
  • negativNorwegian
  • negatywPolish
  • negativa, negativoPortuguese
  • negativRomanian
  • отрицание, отрицательный, отрицательная величина, негатив, негативныйRussian
  • negativSwedish
  • எதிர்மறைTamil
  • ఋణాత్మకTelugu
  • olumsuz, negatifTurkish
  • негативнийUkrainian
  • منفیUrdu
  • tiêu cựcVietnamese
  • Chinese

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