Showing definitions for negging

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Slang dictionary results for negging

negging

American  

[neg-ing] / ˈnɛg ɪŋ /

noun

Slang.

1. the act of insulting someone or something with a backhanded compliment or with qualified approval, especially as a ploy to lower the self-esteem of a person or cheapen an object before showing romantic interest or making an offer.

   I will not tolerate gaslighting, negging, or other mind games in my love life.

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Etymology

Origin of negging

First recorded in 1995–2000; gerund of neg ( def. ) (in the sense “to give negative feedback”)

Example Sentences

But he’s clever enough to hide it, negging his hero into giving him a backstage pass.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 20, 2025

DeVido’s Emma Wheemer — a weary professor prone to negging people she admires and regretting it — feels like people I actually know.

From Washington Post • Mar. 18, 2023

They are kings of monologuing, princes of negging.

From New York Times • May 17, 2022

What is wrong with this “compliment”? It’s in the classic negging style, the quick one-two: one, clearly you are highly desirable, otherwise why would a man such as myself expect to have fallen for you?

From The Guardian • Mar. 3, 2020

With Snoke no longer negging him, it seems Kylo has decided that it’s safe to wear the mask again, now with some cool new red cracks running through it.

From The Verge • Apr. 12, 2019