negate

verb

ne·​gate ni-ˈgāt 

negated; negating

transitive verb

1

: to deny the existence or truth of

… negated and denied her own honest reactions …

—Sara H. Hay

2

: to cause to be ineffective or invalid

Alcohol can negate the effects of some medicines.

negate noun

negator

ni-ˈgā-tər 

noun

Synonyms of negate

• deny
• refute
• reject

Choose the Right Synonym for negate

nullify, negate, annul, abrogate, invalidate mean to deprive of effective or continued existence.

nullify implies counteracting completely the force, effectiveness, or value of something.

a penalty nullified the touchdown

negate implies the destruction or canceling out of each of two things by the other.

the arguments negate each other

annul suggests making ineffective or nonexistent often by legal or official action.

the treaty annuls all previous agreements

abrogate is like annul but more definitely implies a legal or official act.

a law to abrogate trading privileges

invalidate implies making something powerless or unacceptable by declaration of its logical or moral or legal unsoundness.

the court invalidated the statute

Examples of negate in a Sentence

The fact that she lied about her work experience negated the contract.

a verb that is negated by “not”

Recent Examples on the Web

Teams much wiser on how to negate Palace'e style - Palace playing more teams who were happy to sit back and defend in numbers. —Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2026

Anika Agrawal, a member of the union’s bargaining team and a PhD student studying natural resources and the environment, said that the rise in fees would negate any increase in stipends the students had received over the last few years. —Emilia Otte, Hartford Courant, 25 Mar. 2026

And, an early withdrawal penalty can easily negate all of the interest earned on the account to that point. —Matt Richardson, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2026

But that didn’t negate the fact his family needed him too. —Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin negātus, past participle of negāre "to say (with the negative of a conjoined clause), deny, withhold, say no," delocutive derivative of nec "no, not" — more at neglect entry 1

First Known Use

circa 1623, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for negate

• abate
• airfreight
• await
• baseplate
• berate
• birthdate
• birthrate
• bookplate
• borate
• breastplate
• bromate
• casemate

Kids Definition

negate

verb

ne·​gate ni-ˈgāt 

negated; negating

1

: to deny the existence or truth of

2

: to cause to be ineffective or invalid

the discovery negates all previous theories