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negative

American  

[neg-uh-tiv] / ˈnɛg ə tɪv /

adjective

1. expressing or containing negation or denial.

   a negative response to the question.

2. refusing consent, as to a proposal.

   a negative reply to my request.

3. expressing refusal to do something.

   He maintained a negative attitude about cooperating.

4. prohibitory, as a command or order.

5. characterized by the absence of distinguishing or marked qualities or features; lacking positive attributes (opposed to positive).

   a dull, lifeless, negative character.

6. lacking in constructiveness, helpfulness, optimism, cooperativeness, or the like.

   a man of negative viewpoint.

   Synonyms:

   hostile, antagonistic, uncooperative

7. encouraging or noting an unhealthy or unbalanced outlook toward something, especially toward sex or sexuality (used in combination).

   The song has a body-negative message.

8. being without rewards, results, or effectiveness.

   a search of the premises proved negative.

9. Mathematics, Physics.

   1. involving or noting subtraction; minus.

   2. measured or proceeding in the direction opposite to that which is considered as positive.

10. Photography. noting an image in which the brightness values of the subject are reproduced so that the lightest areas are shown as the darkest.

11. Electricity.

    1. of, relating to, or characterized by negative electricity.

    2. indicating a point in a circuit that has a lower potential than that of another point, the current flowing from the point of higher potential to the point of lower potential.

12. Medicine/Medical.

    1. (of blood, affected tissue, etc.) failing to indicate the presence of a specified medical condition or substance.

    2. (of a diagnostic test) failing to indicate the presence of the medical condition or substance tested for.

       Test results for skin cancer were negative.

    3. (of a person) not having a specified medical condition, or not having a specified substance in the body (often used in combination): I'm Rh-negative.

       She tested negative for a staph infection.

       I'm Rh-negative.

13. Chemistry. (of an element or group) tending to gain electrons and become negatively charged; acid.

14. Physiology. responding in a direction away from the stimulus.

15. of, relating to, or noting the south pole of a magnet.

16. Logic. (of a proposition) denying the truth of the predicate with regard to the subject.

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noun

• negatives
  plural

1. a negative statement, answer, word, gesture, etc..

   The ship signaled back a negative.

2. a refusal of assent.

   to answer a request with a negative.

3. the negative form of statement.

4. a person or number of persons arguing against a resolution, statement, etc., especially a team upholding the negative side in a formal debate.

5. a negative quality or characteristic.

6. disadvantage; drawback.

   The plan is generally brilliant, but it has one or two negatives.

7. a negative test result.

   Her test for the infection was a negative.

8. Mathematics.

   1. a minus sign.

   2. a negative quantity or symbol.

9. Photography. a negative image, as on a film, used chiefly for making positives.

10. Electricity. the negative plate or element in a voltaic cell.

11. Archaic. a veto, or right of veto.

    The delegation may exercise its negative.

adverb

1. (used to indicate a negative response).

   “You won't come with us?” “Negative.”

verb (used with object)

• negatives,
  present (3rd person singular)
• negatived,
  past participle,  past
• negativing
  present participle

1. to deny; contradict.

2. to refute or disprove (something).

3. to refuse assent or consent to; veto.

4. to neutralize or counteract.

interjection

1. (used to indicate disagreement, denial of permission, etc.).

   Negative, pilot—complete your mission as directed.

idioms

1. in the negative, in the form of a negative response, as a refusal, denial, or disagreement; no.

   The reply, when it finally came, was in the negative.

negative British  

/ ˈnɛɡətɪv /

adjective

1. expressing or meaning a refusal or denial

   a negative answer

2. lacking positive or affirmative qualities, such as enthusiasm, interest, or optimism

3. showing or tending towards opposition or resistance

4. 1. measured in a direction opposite to that regarded as positive

   2. having the same magnitude but opposite sense to an equivalent positive quantity

5. biology indicating movement or growth away from a particular stimulus

   negative geotropism

6. med (of the results of a diagnostic test) indicating absence of the disease or condition for which the test was made

7. another word for minus minus

8. physics

   1. (of an electric charge) having the same polarity as the charge of an electron

   2. (of a body, system, ion, etc) having a negative electric charge; having an excess of electrons

   3. (of a point in an electric circuit) having a lower electrical potential than some other point with an assigned zero potential

9. short for electronegative

10. of or relating to a photographic negative

11. logic (of a categorial proposition) denying the satisfaction by the subject of the predicate, as in some men are irrational; no pigs have wings

12. astrology of, relating to, or governed by the signs of the zodiac of the earth and water classifications, which are thought to be associated with a receptive passive nature

13. short for Rh negative

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noun

1. a statement or act of denial, refusal, or negation

2. a negative person or thing

3. photog a piece of photographic film or a plate, previously exposed and developed, showing an image that, in black-and-white photography, has a reversal of tones. In colour photography the image is in complementary colours to the subject so that blue sky appears yellow, green grass appears purple, etc

4. physics a negative object, such as a terminal or a plate in a voltaic cell

5. a sentence or other linguistic element with a negative meaning, as the English word not

6. a quantity less than zero or a quantity to be subtracted

7. logic a negative proposition

8. archaic the right of veto

9. indicating denial or refusal

1. (esp in military communications) a signal code word for no 1

verb

1. to deny or nullify; negate

2. to show to be false; disprove

3. to refuse to consent to or approve of

   the proposal was negatived

negative Scientific  

/ nĕg′ə-tĭv /

1. Less than zero.

2. Having the electric charge or voltage less than zero.

3. Devoid of evidence of a suspected condition or disease, as a diagnostic test.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• negativeness
  noun
• negativity
  noun
• nonnegativity
  noun
• quasi-negative
  adjective
• negatively
  adverb
• quasi-negatively
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• negatives
  plural

Participles

• negativing
  present
• negatived
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• negative
  simple
• negatives
  simple
• have negatived
  perfect
• has negatived
  perfect
• am negativing
  progressive
• are negativing
  progressive
• is negativing
  progressive
• have been negativing
  perfect progressive
• has been negativing
  perfect progressive

Past

• negatived
  simple
• had negatived
  perfect
• was negativing
  progressive
• were negativing
  progressive
• had been negativing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will negative
  simple
• will have negatived
  perfect
• will be negativing
  progressive
• will have been negativing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of negative

First recorded in 1350–1400; from Latin negātīvus “denying”; see negate, -ive ; replacing Middle English negatif (noun and adjective), from Middle French, from Latin, as above

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Explanation

Negative means focused on what is bad or lacking. A negative ad tells you bad things about the competition. A negative person loves to complain. In math, a negative number is less than zero. People who see the glass half empty have a negative outlook. Ask your mom for ice cream and receive an answer in the negative? Don't be too negative back to her, or it'll be a while before you have another chance at ice cream.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

negative negatives negatived negativing

The Harvard CAPS/Harris poll found that 68% of Hispanic voters had a negative view of ICE.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2026

"Through my tours, I am giving visitors an opportunity to experience its landscapes, our culture and people beyond the familiar negative headlines."

From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026

Bloom reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings last month, although investors eyed its spending and negative cash flow.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026

Becerra may also be sympathetic to environmental justice communities — poorer neighborhoods, often of color — that have experienced disproportionately negative effects from extraction industries such as oil drilling and mining.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

Nowadays we recognize that 2 – 3 = –1: negative one.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

According to a Wednesday note from Bernstein analyst Mark Shmulik, the initial read on Alphabet’s quarter offered far more negatives than positives.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026

"We made lots of lists - lots of positives, lots of negatives," she said.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

It includes an architectural model and original blueprints of the Integratron, as well as nearly 630 photographs, negatives and slides, more than 250 audio recordings, 8-millimeter film footage, books, publications and other records and ephemera.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

"There were a handful of positives and negatives last week, but the main thing that let us down was that we created so many chances, but mistakes at crucial times cost us," said Erasmus.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

They did not realize that one photo was missing until Mrs. Richardson lifted the last to reveal a bundle of negatives.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

Referring to Erskine May, Parliament's ancient and respected rule book, he said MPs should never be asked to vote again on the same proposition if they had already "negatived" it during the current Parliamentary session.

From BBC ● Mar. 19, 2019

With gentle but resolute firmness, His Majesty negatived this proposal, hailed a passing motorist who, overwhelmed, obeyed with alacrity a royal command that he convey Miss Betts to her residence in Uxbridge.

From Time Magazine Archive

Miss Bingley moved with alacrity to the pianoforte, and after a polite request that Elizabeth would lead the way, which the other as politely and more earnestly negatived, she seated herself.

From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen

In consequence of these shuffling contrivances against justice, this most serious inquiry was negatived, while every principle of right was set at open defiance, and the most honourable of the community privately insulted.

From Secret History of the Court of England, from the Accession of George the Third to the Death of George the Fourth, Volume II (of 2) Including, Among Other Important Matters, Full Particulars of the Mysterious Death of the Princess Charlotte by Lady Anne Hamilton

Powell resumed his speech and made a much longer one than his first, at the end of which he moved an adjournment, negatived by 4 to 32.

From The Life of Lyman Trumbull by Horace White

How long am I to have the office of merely negativing assertions which are but supported by former assertions, in which John is ever helping Tom, and the elephant stands upon the tortoise?

From Apologia pro Vita Sua by John Henry Newman

The governor claimed the right of negativing the speaker chosen by the representatives, which was denied by them; and, each party persisting in its pretensions, the assembly was dissolved, and new elections took place.

From The Life of George Washington, Vol. 1 Commander in Chief of the American Forces During the War which Established the Independence of his Country and First President of the United States by John Marshall

It is the Nabob himself, negativing all these pretences.

From The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. 12 (of 12) by Edmund Burke

But Mr. Falkirk had reasons of his own for negativing that plan, and negatived it accordingly.

From Wych Hazel by Susan Warner

But in negativing all means of arriving at truth except the letter of scripture interpreted by the inner light, he stood upon the same platform as the followers of George Fox.

From Milton by Mark Pattison

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