negation

American  

[ni-gey-shuhn] / nɪˈgeɪ ʃən /

noun

negations plural

1. the act of denying.

   He shook his head in negation of the charge.

2. a denial.

   a negation of one's former beliefs.

3. something that is without existence; nonentity.

4. the absence or opposite of something that is actual, positive, or affirmative.

   Darkness is the negation of light.

5. a negative statement, idea, concept, doctrine, etc.; a contradiction, refutation, or rebuttal.

   a shameless lie that demands a negation.

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negation British  

/ nɪˈɡeɪʃən /

noun

1. the opposite or absence of something

2. a negative thing or condition

3. the act or an instance of negating

4. logic

   1. the operator that forms one sentence from another and corresponds to the English not

   2. a sentence so formed. It is usually written –p, ~p, ̄p or ⇁ p , where p is the given sentence, and is false when the given sentence is true, and true when it is false

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• negationist
  noun
• nonnegation
  noun
• renegation
  noun
• negational
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• negations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of negation

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin negātiōn-, stem of negātiō “denial”; equivalent to negate + -ion

Explanation

A negation is a refusal or denial of something. If your friend thinks you owe him five dollars and you say that you don’t, your statement is a negation. A negation is a statement that cancels out or denies another statement or action. "I didn't kill the butler" could be a negation, along with "I don't know where the treasure is." The act of saying one of these statements is also a negation. Some negations can be good news, like “No, you don’t have a cavity” or “No, that report isn’t due today.”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

negation negations

Singh formally apologised to the nation in 2005 in parliament, saying the violence were "the negation of the concept of nationhood enshrined in our constitution".

From BBC ● Dec. 27, 2024

And my idea of degrowth is not a negation of technology.

From Salon ● May 3, 2024

In a publication, to appear soon, it is argued that both the syntax of subordination and negation systems in Tonya show different patterns and thus diachronic development from the Çaykara variety.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 2, 2024

“You’re not going to have enough current to light up a child’s lightbulb project at a science fair,” he informed Marlon, who did not take such negation well.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2024

I apologize for the double negative, but it’s a real double negative of a situation, a bind from which negating the negation is truly the only escape.

From "Turtles All the Way Down" by John Green

In a prepared statement, the company confirmed negations will resume next week and said it was pleased to go back and “resolve the few remaining open issues.”

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 19, 2023

Peace negations mediated by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia in the Saudi coastal town of Jeddah have all but broken down.

From Washington Times ● Jun. 27, 2023

"Naturally, when you are in contract negations, there is always going to be speculation and unless you hear it from me, that's what it is," Hamilton said.

From BBC ● May 25, 2023

As in his earlier work, Saunders’ relentlessly humane vision of life, always in comic search of our deepest negations of each other, is remarkably vivid.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2022

Even worse, a sentence can have more negations than you think it does.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Related Words

• antithesis
• renunciation
• repudiation