negate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
negates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
negated,
past participle, past
-
negating
present participle
-
to deny the existence, evidence, or truth of.
an investigation tending to negate any supernatural influences.
-
to nullify or cause to be ineffective.
Progress on the study has been negated by the lack of funds.
verb (used without object)
-
negates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
negated,
past participle, past
-
negating
present participle
verb
-
to make ineffective or void; nullify; invalidate
-
to deny or contradict
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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negaternoun
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negatornoun
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renegateverb (used with object)
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self-negatingadjective
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unnegatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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negatesimple
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negatessimple
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have negatedperfect
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has negatedperfect
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am negatingprogressive
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are negatingprogressive
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is negatingprogressive
-
have been negatingperfect progressive
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has been negatingperfect progressive
Past
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negatedsimple
-
had negatedperfect
-
was negatingprogressive
-
were negatingprogressive
-
had been negatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of negate
First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin negātus “denied,” past participle of negāre “to deny, refuse,” from neg-, variant of nec “not”; see neglect
Explanation
If something neutralizes the effect of something else, then you can say the effect is negated. Hanging a disco ball from your living room ceiling negates the sleek modern effect created by the contemporary furniture. If something is proved false or untrue, it has been negated. The discovery of one dinosaur jaw negated the conventional wisdom that all dinosaurs were vegetarians, since the tooth structure proved that guy definitely ate meat. The verb negate can also mean to counteract or counterbalance — so a really strong serve can negate your other weaknesses on the tennis court.
Vocabulary lists containing negate
100 SAT Words Beginning with "N"
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Warm-up, List 2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Mourning Israeli civilians, she argued, did not negate the suffering of Palestinians or diminish the struggle against Israel’s government.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
If you dislike or even detest this film, I don’t seek to negate your feelings.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
On the next play, Jefferson threw the ball into the chest of a receiver at the one-yard line, only for another holding penalty to negate the play.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
"And a plan was put together to negate the threat from whatever intelligence was received."
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
When an author has to negate something that a reader doesn’t already believe, she has to set it up as a plausible belief on his mental stage before she knocks it down.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
But to say that no filmmakers are working in mainstream, high-flying, big-budget action with real artistic value negates the principle of filmmaking as an art form.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
Not only does this grant Bonta VIP access to the moral highground, it all but negates Ellison’s recent New York Times guest essay.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
“He literally negates people from even shooting the ball,” marveled San Antonio point guard De’Aaron Fox.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026
A darker January PCE pretty much negates a more positive report on the consumer-price index in February.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 13, 2026
Pushing the not next to the phrase it negates eliminates the scope ambiguity.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
But prosecutors say any agreement was negated when Davis went public with his version in his memoir several years later.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Years before “Barbie” stormed movie houses, Elle was the subversive answer to whether a woman’s love of makeup, pastel colors, skirts and heels negated her feminism.
From Salon ● Jul. 6, 2026
The breakout also negated a bearish evening star, marked by a doji candle on March 26.
From Barron's ● Apr. 20, 2026
“But further attacks on vessels and warnings that the Strait of Hormuz would effectively remain closed negated any positive impact,” she said.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 13, 2026
It’s not that ain’t is used as a standard contraction for negated forms of be, have, and do; no writer is that oblivious.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
The flip side is that big tech firms, oil exporters and other businesses with overseas customers could see a boost, potentially negating some of the negative effects of a weaker dollar.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 28, 2026
Boy Kavalier thinks he owns him, negating all necessity for his subject’s approval.
From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2025
But its Feb. 23 show will air after Oscar voting has ended, negating the impact of any speeches and celebratory moments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2025
Rather than directly address vehicle size, they tout emergent technologies, like pedestrian automatic emergency braking, that can theoretically avoid crashes entirely, negating the risk that hulking vehicles present in a collision.
From Slate ● Oct. 2, 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
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
