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)
-
self-negatingadjective
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unnegatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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negatesimple
-
negatessimple
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have negatedperfect
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has negatedperfect
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am negatingprogressive
-
are negatingprogressive
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is negatingprogressive
-
have been negatingperfect progressive
-
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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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
What’s clear is that if there are other reasons to do Roth conversions, the widow’s penalty issue doesn’t negate them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
"And a plan was put together to negate the threat from whatever intelligence was received."
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
“Tell him he’s wrong. War doesn’t negate decency. It demands it, even more than in times of peace.”
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
President Emmanuel Macron’s statement that French secularism “in no way negates religion” was important.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
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
Missing a payment, even by a few days, can trigger a late fee that negates the benefit of the interest-free structure.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 21, 2025
“I will never believe that one negates the other and that my experience of that person, I don’t get to keep and cherish,” Watson said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2025
Pushing the not next to the phrase it negates eliminates the scope ambiguity.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Rogers’ claims went to trial and a jury awarded her $6 million, which was negated by the settlement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 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
His skills negated the handicap; he once won on a horse carrying fifteen pounds more than his impost.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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
They seemed left for dead after Clayton Kershaw gave up four runs in the bottom of the first, immediately negating Freeman’s RBI line-drive single in the first.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2025
Boy Kavalier thinks he owns him, negating all necessity for his subject’s approval.
From Salon ● Aug. 31, 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.
