double negative

noun

plural double negatives

: a now nonstandard syntactic construction containing two negatives (see negative entry 2 sense 3a) and having a negative meaning

"I didn't hear nothing" is a double negative.

Note: Double negatives are nonstandard in Standard American English. When two negatives occur together, the sentence is often criticized as an ungrammatical way to express a positive meaning, with the negatives interpreted as canceling each other out. But such constructions are common and grammatical in other varieties of English, including African American English, Southern, and Appalachian English. In these language varieties, two negatives amplify one another, as in, "She ain't never lost a race," and "We didn't have no dog then."

Examples of double negative in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In the first, communication seems just shy of impossible, an arrhythmia of words and images, English and French, double negatives and oxymorons. — Literary Hub, 2 Feb. 2026

But the underlying logic of this change clearly goes beyond the wispy double negative. — Benjamin Mazer, The Atlantic, 21 Nov. 2025

Spiritualists were also early adopters of novel technologies such as photography – still befuddling to their public – exploiting simple tricks such as double negatives to create phantom images. — Jonathon Keats, Forbes, 23 Sep. 2024

His use of a double negative makes the remark even more confusing. — Tori Otten, The New Republic, 1 Aug. 2023

Warren, a former high school debate champion, responds this time with a double negative. — Michael Scherer, The Denver Post, 16 Oct. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1765, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for double negative

• seronegative
• electronegative

Kids Definition

double negative

noun

: a now nonstandard grammatical construction that contains two negatives and has a negative meaning (as in "I didn't hear nothing" instead of "I didn't hear anything")