negative

adjective

neg·a·tive | \ ˈne-gə-tiv

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

noun

Definition of negative (Entry 2 of 3)

1a(1) : a reply that indicates the withholding of assent : refusal

(2) archaic : a right of veto

(3) obsolete : an adverse vote : veto

b : a proposition which denies or contradicts another especially : the one of a pair of propositions in which negation is expressed

2a : something that is the opposite or negation of something else

b : drawback, liability

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

in the negative

: with a negative reply : with a reply that means "no" He answered in the negative.

negative

verb

negatived; negativing

Definition of negative (Entry 3 of 3)

transitive verb

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

Other Words from negative Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about negative

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Other Words from negative

Adjective

negatively adverb

negativeness noun

negativity \ ˌne-gə-ˈti-və-tē

\ noun

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

Provide negative space to refresh the eye Love bold aesthetics? — Lauren Hubbard, ELLE Decor, "Why You Shouldn’t Underestimate the Simplicity of White," 1 May 2019 The central bank’s quarterly gauge of business intentions and optimism indicates that overall business sentiment turned slightly negative during the first quarter of this year, compared with a positive reading at the end of last year. — Kim Mackrael, WSJ, "Canadian Business Sentiment Softens, Bank of Canada Survey Finds," 15 Apr. 2019 There are a lot of reasons for doing that, including the fact that competitors will often post negative reviews of products to swing opinion. — Leah Prinzivalli, Teen Vogue, "Sunday Riley Admits to Asking Its Employees to Post Product Reviews," 17 Oct. 2018 Some protesters have gone to the salon's Facebook page to leave negative reviews in a move designed to bring their recommendation rating down, as reported by Yahoo Lifestyle. — Kristin Corpuz, Allure, "People Are Protesting a Brooklyn Nail Salon After Video of Fight Goes Viral," 8 Aug. 2018 Fears of a global economic slowdown have led the European Central Bank to once again ponder the idea of taking interest rates into deeply negative territory and then come up with ways so to cushion any ill effects. — Jon Sindreu, WSJ, "When Central Banks Try to Fix What They Break," 16 Apr. 2019 After a critic said something negative about her oldest son, Isaiah, on social media, the country singer—who recently gave birth to baby number two—responded in the best way. — Kelly O'sullivan, Country Living, "Carrie Underwood Just Shut Down an Internet Troll Who Criticized Her Son Isaiah," 27 Mar. 2019 Without the negative charges, a system like this would run for only 12 hours. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Scientists Are Now Transforming Saltwater Into Hydrogen Fuel," 20 Mar. 2019 This reckoning has been most visible as a parade of negative headlines about algorithmic systems. — James Vincent, The Verge, "The Verge 2018 tech report card: AI," 30 Dec. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

But the Tour felt like the positives outweighed any potential negatives associated with the move. — Edgar Thompson, OrlandoSentinel.com, "PGA sets schedule, officially reinstates true Florida Swing," 10 July 2018 But nonetheless she was never motivated to turn negatives into positives. — Shawn Musgrave, BostonGlobe.com, "SJC considers tossing out 11,000 more drug cases," 8 May 2018 False negatives mean that some people with a-fib won't be detected by the watch. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "What is atrial fibrillation, and why is your watch telling you about it?," 26 Sep. 2018 Any of the above are certainly possible, and 2018 has produced far more positives than negatives. — Jeff Shain, New York Times, "U.S. Open: Players to Watch," 12 June 2018 Aarian breaks down Uber’s decision-making, and links it to one of this technology’s trickiest problems: finding the balance between false positives and false negatives. — Alex Davies, WIRED, "This Week in the Future of Cars: Money Money Money Moneyyy!," 3 June 2018 Results usually take weeks and may yield false positives and false negatives. — Howard Cohen, miamiherald, "Is this stuff cocaine? These college kids can tell you real fast," 8 Feb. 2018 Collett's Twitter is filled with mentions of the negatives of migrations, his appearance on an alt-right show and one recent tweet where suggested the West would have been better with Hitler in power. — Christal Hayes, USA TODAY, "Rep. Steve King retweets prominent Nazi sympathizer, sparks controversy — again," 13 June 2018 But it is known for a high rate of false negatives — leaving patients who have the flu undiagnosed. — Sarah Gantz, Philly.com, "For this family, the flu's final gut punch was an $887 testing charge," 10 Apr. 2018

These 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.

History and Etymology for negative

Adjective

Middle English negatyff, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French negatif, borrowed from Latin negātīvus "(of legal actions) restraining, (of words) denying," from negātus (past participle of negāre "to say no, deny") + -īvus -ive

Noun

Middle English negatif "negative command, prohibition," borrowed from Anglo-French & Late Latin; Anglo-French negative, borrowed from Late Latin negātīva "negative command or statement," from feminine of Latin negātīvus "(of legal actions) restraining, (of words) denying" — more at negative entry 1

Verb

derivative of negative entry 1

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Dictionary Entries near negative

negative acceleration

negative angle

negative crystal

Statistics for negative

Last Updated

19 May 2019

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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

noun

English 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

neg·a·tive | \ ˈne-gə-tiv

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

noun

Kids 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

adjective

neg·a·tive | \ ˈneg-ət-iv\

Medical 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