negative
adjective
\
Definition of negative
(Entry 1 of 3)
1a : marked by denial, prohibition, or refusal received a negative answer also : marked by absence, withholding, or removal of something positive the negative motivation of shame — Garrett Hardin
b(1) : denying a predicate (see predicate entry 1 sense 1a) of a subject or a part of a subject "no A is B" is a negative proposition
(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
b : marked by features of hostility, withdrawal, or pessimism (see pessimism sense 1) that hinder or oppose constructive treatment or development a negative outlook negative criticism
c : promoting a person or cause by criticizing or attacking the competition ran a negative campaign negative advertising
3a(1) : less than zero and opposite in sign to a positive (see positive entry 1 sense 4e) number that when added to the given number yields zero −2 is a negative number
(2) : having more outgo than income : constituting a loss negative cash flow negative worth
b : extending or generated in a direction opposite to an arbitrarily chosen regular direction or position negative angle
4a : being, relating to, or charged with electricity of which the electron is the elementary unit
b : having more electrons than protons a negative ion
c(1) : having lower electric potential (see potential entry 1 sense 2b) and constituting the part toward which the current (see current entry 2 sense 3) flows from the external circuit the negative pole
(2) : being the electron-emitting electrode (see electrode sense 2) of an electron tube
5a : not affirming the presence of a condition, substance, or organism suspected to be present also : having a test result indicating the absence especially of a condition, substance, or organism she is HIV negative
b : directed or moving away from a source of stimulation negative tropism
c : less than the pressure of the atmosphere negative pressure
6 : having the light and dark parts in approximately inverse (see inverse entry 1 sense 1) relation to those of the original photographic subject
7 of a lens : diverging (see diverge sense 1) light rays and forming a virtual inverted image
negative
nounDefinition of negative (Entry 2 of 3)
b : a proposition which denies or contradicts another especially : the one of a pair of propositions in which negation is expressed
3a : an expression (such as the word no) of negation or denial
b : a negative number
4 : the side that upholds the contradictory proposition in a debate
5 : a negative photographic image on transparent material used for printing positive pictures also : the material that carries such an image
6 : a reverse impression taken from a piece of sculpture or ceramics
7 : a negative result (as of a test) a high rate of false negatives also : a test yielding such a result
: with a negative reply : with a reply that means "no" He answered in the negative.
negative
verbDefinition of negative (Entry 3 of 3)
1a : to refuse assent to
b : to reject by or as if by a vote
2 : to demonstrate the falsity of
3 : to deny the truth, reality, or validity of
4 : neutralize, counteract
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Other Words from negative
Adjective
\
noun
Synonyms & Antonyms for negative
Synonyms: Adjective
adversarial, adversary, antagonistic, antipathetic, hostile, inhospitable, inimical, jaundiced, mortal, unfriendly, unsympathetic
Synonyms: Noun
nay, no, non placet
Synonyms: Verb
blackball, down, kill, nix, shoot down, veto
Antonyms: Adjective
friendly, hospitable, nonantagonistic, nonhostile, sympathetic
Antonyms: Noun
Antonyms: Verb
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Examples of negative in a Sentence
Adjective
Car exhaust has a negative effect on the environment. the negative effects of the drug The feedback about the new product was all negative.Noun
“No” and “not” are negatives. Can I have the negatives to make copies of the photos?Verb
although the rebuttal was very eloquent, the jury negatived it in favor of the prosecution's argument we promptly negatived the idea of having pizza again for dinner, noting that we had already had it for three nights that week
Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
Deutsche Bank analyst Matthew Niknam estimates skinny bundles’ profit margins are a negative 6%, versus a positive 38% for traditional pay-TV packages. — Benjamin Mullin, WSJ, "Outlook for Traditional TV Goes From Bad to Worse," 19 Nov. 2018 As Cax points out, none of the traits are a negative when a man is associated with them. — Rachel Nussbaum, Glamour, "This Fashion Show Sent Models Down the Runway Makeup-Free to Make a Point," 14 Sep. 2018 Of course, the negative is also true—a compromise can be the worst of both worlds. — Andrew Moseman, Popular Mechanics, "Hatchbacks Aren't Dead, They're Just Weird Small Crossovers Now," 30 Aug. 2018 When free cash flow is negative, a company needs a source of outside capital—either taking out loans or selling shares—to finance continued spending. — Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica, "Why almost everyone was wrong about Tesla’s cash flow situation," 26 Oct. 2018 But what makes being labeled Hispanic worse is the negative connotations and racist undertones. — Araceli Cruz, Teen Vogue, "The Problematic History of the Word "Hispanic"," 9 Oct. 2018 All of these materials have some sort of negative environmental impact. — Melissa Riofrio, PCWorld, "The HP Spectre Folio is a leather-clad laptop that's luxurious," 1 Oct. 2018 Over the past few years, however, ice levels in the Arctic have been hitting record lows thanks to climate change, and while its effects are almost universally negative, one benefit is opened northern sea routes. — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "A Container Ship Is Sailing Through the Arctic for the First Time," 18 Sep. 2018 Garrett of Van Meter, a city of about a thousand people 20 miles west of Des Moines, was first diagnosed with alveolar fusion negative rhabdomyosarcoma in September. — Makayla Tendall, ajc, "'See ya later, suckas!': Family writes unique obituary for 5-year-old cancer victim," 13 July 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
It’s harder to predict the potential negatives of a vertical merger, noted Leemore S. Dafny, a professor at Harvard Business School. — Priyanka Dayal Mccluskey, BostonGlobe.com, "A Partners-Harvard Pilgrim merger isn’t a done deal. Regulators could have their say," 8 May 2018 The hard work of getting memories back after a blaze Nobody was willing to let history fade away after a blaze last month left the Aberdeen Museum of History’s prints, negatives, film and VHS tapes soaked and covered in soot. — Morning Brief, The Seattle Times, "Aberdeen museum recovers history from a fire, and Seattle is opening more tiny-house villages | Tuesday Morning Brief, July 17," 17 July 2018 Of more than 400 photos shown in the book, including runway images and design sketches, many of the photos were printed as photo negatives, like an X-Ray, to reflect Viktor&Rolf’s focus on reinvention. — Aubri Juhasz, The Cut, "The Designers Known for Clothes That Look Like Art," 28 June 2018 But as Putnam prepares to leave the commissioner's job after the November elections, most of the candidates from both parties also point to produce dumping from Mexico as one of the biggest negatives in Florida from the pact. — Jim Turner, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Agriculture commissioner candidates say NAFTA hurts Florida farmers," 30 May 2018 By important demographic measures, Southeast D.C. is a photographic negative of the prosperity that has transformed much of the District. — Peter Jamison, Washington Post, "Are D.C.’s poorest neighborhoods falling off the electoral map?," 29 June 2018 Jealous’s candidacy is a photo-negative of Trump’s: Economic populism fused with appeals to racial justice and equality. — Sarah Jones, The New Republic, "Tuesday’s primaries were a good night for the populist left.," 27 June 2018 The museum’s archives include more than twenty collections with artifacts representing PE history in the form of photographs and negatives, 8mm and 16mm films, maps and blueprints, original documents, tools and other artifacts dating from the 1870s. — Nicole Miller-coleman, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Father's Day weekend is Pacific Electric Weekend at the Orange Empire Railway Museum," 16 June 2018 Here's a look at some other negatives from the first half of the season: The end of IndyCar in Phoenix? — Jim Ayello, Indianapolis Star, "IndyCar midseason review, part II: What's gone wrong," 15 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'negative.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
'Negging' Moves Beyond The Bar
'Negging' Moves Beyond The Bar
The skeevy art of the insult as come-on
Dictionary Entries near negative
Statistics for negative
Last Updated
1 Dec 2018
Look-up Popularity
Time Traveler for negative
The first known use of negative was in the 15th century
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More Definitions for negative
negative
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of negative
(Entry 1 of 2)
: harmful or bad : not wanted
: thinking about the bad qualities of someone or something : thinking that a bad result will happen : not hopeful or optimistic
: expressing dislike or disapproval
negative
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of negative (Entry 2 of 2)
: something that is harmful or bad
: a word or statement that means “no” or that expresses a denial or refusal
: an image on film that is used to make a printed photograph and that has light areas where the photograph will be dark and dark areas where the photograph will be light; also : the film that has such an image
See the full definition for negative in the English Language Learners Dictionary
negative
adjective
\
Kids Definition of negative
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : emphasizing the bad side of a person, situation, or thing a negative attitude Whenever I ask her how she's doing, her reply is negative.
2 : not positive His test results came back negative.
3 : less than zero and shown by a minus sign −2 is a negative number.
4 : being the part toward which the electric current flows from the outside circuit the negative pole of a storage battery
5 : of, being, or relating to electricity of which the electron is the unit and which is produced in a hard rubber rod that has been rubbed with wool a negative charge
6 : having more electrons than protons a negative particle
negative
nounKids Definition of negative (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : a part of something which is harmful or bad Consider the negatives of quitting school.
2 : an expression (as the word no) that denies or says the opposite
3 : the side that argues or votes against something
4 : a photographic image on film from which a final picture is made
negative
adjectiveMedical Definition of negative
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : marked by denial, prohibition, or refusal received a negative answer
2 : marked by features (as hostility, withdrawal, or pessimism) that hinder or oppose constructive treatment or development a negative outlook
3a : being, relating to, or charged with electricity of which the electron is the elementary unit
b : having more electrons than protons negative ions
c(1) : having lower electrical potential and constituting the part toward which the current flows from the external circuit the negative pole
(2) : being the electron-emitting electrode of an electron tube
4a : not affirming the presence of a condition, substance, or organism suspected to be present also : having a test result indicating the absence especially of a condition, substance, or organism she is HIV negative
b : directed or moving away from a source of stimulation negative tropism
5 : having the light and dark parts in approximately inverse relation to those of the original photographic subject
negative
nounMedical Definition of negative (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : a negative photographic image on transparent material used for printing positive pictures also : the material that carries such an image
2 : a negative result (as of a test) also : a test yielding such a result
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