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

• 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

The pair are gifted grimoires at the age of 15, though Asta's is a rare Grimoire of Anti-Magic that negates and repels his opponent's spells. —Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Oct. 2025

New Jersey’s penalty killers, who have been the NHL’s best this season, were having none of it, negating the man advantage without allowing a shot on goal. —Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 23 Oct. 2025

However, the Avs felt that Dylan Guenther, who also scored the winner in overtime, played the puck back into the Utah zone on his own, which could have negated the offsides. —Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 22 Oct. 2025

This is ironic as wildfire emissions in 2020 essentially negated 18 years of reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from other sectors by a factor of two. —Cole Marting, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Oct. 2025

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