negative
expressing or containing negation or denial: a negative response to the question.
refusing consent, as to a proposal: a negative reply to my request.
expressing refusal to do something: He maintained a negative attitude about cooperating.
prohibitory, as a command or order.
characterized by the absence of distinguishing or marked qualities or features; lacking positive attributes (opposed to positive): a dull, lifeless, negative character.
lacking in constructiveness, helpfulness, optimism, cooperativeness, or the like: a man of negative viewpoint.
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.
being without rewards, results, or effectiveness: a search of the premises proved negative.
Mathematics, Physics.
involving or noting subtraction; minus.
measured or proceeding in the direction opposite to that which is considered as positive.
Photography. noting an image in which the brightness values of the subject are reproduced so that the lightest areas are shown as the darkest.
Electricity.
of, relating to, or characterized by negative electricity.
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.
Medicine/Medical.
(of blood, affected tissue, etc.) failing to indicate the presence of a specified medical condition or substance.
(of a diagnostic test) failing to indicate the presence of the medical condition or substance tested for:Test results for skin cancer were negative.
(of a person) not having a specified medical condition, or not having a specified substance in the body (often used in combination):She tested negative for a staph infection.I'm Rh-negative.
Chemistry. (of an element or group) tending to gain electrons and become negatively charged; acid.
Physiology. responding in a direction away from the stimulus.
of, relating to, or noting the south pole of a magnet.
Logic. (of a proposition) denying the truth of the predicate with regard to the subject.
a negative statement, answer, word, gesture, etc.: The ship signaled back a negative.
a refusal of assent: to answer a request with a negative.
the negative form of statement.
a person or number of persons arguing against a resolution, statement, etc., especially a team upholding the negative side in a formal debate.
a negative quality or characteristic.
disadvantage; drawback: The plan is generally brilliant, but it has one or two negatives.
a negative test result:Her test for the infection was a negative.
Mathematics.
a minus sign.
a negative quantity or symbol.
Photography. a negative image, as on a film, used chiefly for making positives.
Electricity. the negative plate or element in a voltaic cell.
Archaic. a veto, or right of veto: The delegation may exercise its negative.
(used to indicate a negative response): “You won't come with us?” “Negative.”
to deny; contradict.
to refute or disprove (something).
to refuse assent or consent to; veto.
to neutralize or counteract.
(used to indicate disagreement, denial of permission, etc.): Negative, pilot—complete your mission as directed.
Idioms about negative
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.
Origin of negative
1Other words for negative
Other words from negative
- neg·a·tive·ly, adverb
- neg·a·tive·ness, neg·a·tiv·i·ty, noun
- non·neg·a·tiv·i·ty, noun
- qua·si-neg·a·tive, adjective
- qua·si-neg·a·tive·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use negative in a sentence
The good news is there are ways to mitigate the negative effects of isolation partially thanks to technology.
Meanwhile, the platform has a negative net favorability among all age groups older than 24, and -20 points for Americans age 65 and up.
Half of Americans oppose Trump’s potential ban of TikTok | Lance Lambert | August 21, 2020 | FortuneTo be sure, around half of the respondents it surveyed had a negative view towards ads on websites.
‘The inevitable maturation of the industry’: Desktop ad blocking is past its peak | Lara O'Reilly | August 20, 2020 | DigidayCriteo is forecasting third-quarter revenue of between $171 million and $173 million, a 20% to 21% decline from last year’s quarter, which includes a $40 million negative coronavirus impact.
‘There is no precedent to this’: How Criteo plans to adapt to Apple’s IDFA privacy update | Lara O'Reilly | July 31, 2020 | DigidayWe insist that negative reviews are very important for brand self-reflection.
How to turn your customer feedback into a driving force for your product | Maria Kazakova | June 18, 2020 | Search Engine Watch
But when a president seems determined to tell voters that they are wrong and he is right, voters usually respond negatively.
Voters Remind D.C. That the Economy Still Sucks | Stuart Stevens | November 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOne of the reasons the Vikings are viewed so negatively is that their violence could seem wanton or irrational.
How the Vikings Saved Europe and Got a Terrible Reputation | William O’Connor | September 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTYet the fact of the matter is that none of the women involved will see their careers affected negatively by any of this.
Why the Photo Scandal Won't Hurt Kate Upton's and Jennifer Lawrence's Careers | Nick Gillespie | September 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTGroup B: React negatively to any mention of Ramallah and Palestine.
Grindr and Tinder Help the Holy Land Make Love, Not War | Gideon Resnick | July 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOn the other hand, Muslims worldwide are likely, on the whole, to react negatively to the pronouncement.
The countenances round him turned sinister, but not idly, negatively sinister: they grew dark with purpose.
Three More John Silence Stories | Algernon BlackwoodThe iron is, therefore, as a matter of experiment, part of a negatively charged substance.
The Elements of Qualitative Chemical Analysis, vol. 1, parts 1 and 2. | Julius StieglitzFirst negatively, it has not been done by any artificial means or legislative hocus-pocus (applause).
Negatively, it should not be based upon mere emotion nor upon a desire for wealth or social advantages.
The Complete Club Book for Women | Caroline French BentonSpeaking of him negatively we imply the positive without risking offence.
A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy | Isaac Husik
British Dictionary definitions for negative
/ (ˈnɛɡətɪv) /
expressing or meaning a refusal or denial: a negative answer
lacking positive or affirmative qualities, such as enthusiasm, interest, or optimism
showing or tending towards opposition or resistance
measured in a direction opposite to that regarded as positive
having the same magnitude but opposite sense to an equivalent positive quantity
biology indicating movement or growth away from a particular stimulus: negative geotropism
med (of the results of a diagnostic test) indicating absence of the disease or condition for which the test was made
another word for minus (def. 3b), minus (def. 5)
physics
(of an electric charge) having the same polarity as the charge of an electron
(of a body, system, ion, etc) having a negative electric charge; having an excess of electrons
(of a point in an electric circuit) having a lower electrical potential than some other point with an assigned zero potential
short for electronegative
of or relating to a photographic negative
logic (of a categorial proposition) denying the satisfaction by the subject of the predicate, as in some men are irrational; no pigs have wings
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
short for Rh negative
a statement or act of denial, refusal, or negation
a negative person or thing
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
physics a negative object, such as a terminal or a plate in a voltaic cell
a sentence or other linguistic element with a negative meaning, as the English word not
a quantity less than zero or a quantity to be subtracted
logic a negative proposition
archaic the right of veto
in the negative indicating denial or refusal
(esp in military communications) a signal code word for no 1
to deny or nullify; negate
to show to be false; disprove
to refuse to consent to or approve of: the proposal was negatived
- Compare positive, affirmative
Derived forms of negative
- negatively, adverb
- negativeness or negativity, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for negative
[ nĕg′ə-tĭv ]
Less than zero.
Having the electric charge or voltage less than zero.
Devoid of evidence of a suspected condition or disease, as a diagnostic test.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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