negate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to deny the existence, evidence, or truth of.
an investigation tending to negate any supernatural influences.
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to nullify or cause to be ineffective.
Progress on the study has been negated by the lack of funds.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to make ineffective or void; nullify; invalidate
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to deny or contradict
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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negaternoun
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renegateverb (used with object)
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self-negatingadjective
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unnegatedadjective
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negatornoun
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have negatedperfect
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has negatedperfect 3rd person singular
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is negatingprogressive 3rd person singular
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has been negatingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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have been negatingperfect progressive
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am negatingprogressive 1st person singular
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negatingparticiple
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are negatingprogressive
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negatessingular 3rd person
Past
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had negatedperfect
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were negatingprogressive plural
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had been negatingperfect progressive
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negatedparticiple
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was negatingprogressive singular
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negatedsimple
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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Speech and Debate
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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.
However, while tea has numerous benefits, commercial tea products such as bottled or bubble tea, often contain sugar, artificial sweeteners, and preservatives, which may reduce or negate the health benefits.
From Science Daily • Jun. 9, 2026
That was a really important lesson because it didn’t negate my value, but it allowed me to pave the road for other women.
From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026
Friedman wrote Thursday that the tightened restrictions, "are not security measures or efforts to make good on prior commitments but rather transparent attempts to negate the impact of this Court's Order."
From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026
Yet they have to correct for a yearslong decline in employer response rates to BLS surveys—which does not negate the data overall, but certainly makes preliminary calculations a bit more unsteady and speculative.
From Slate • Apr. 3, 2026
Or, to put it more positively, when a writer wants to negate an unfamiliar proposition, she should unveil the negation in two stages: 1.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
