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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.
EXPANDcharacterized 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.
7.
being without rewards, results, or effectiveness: a search of the premises proved negative.
8.
Mathematics, Physics.
a.
involving or noting subtraction; minus.
b.
measured or proceeding in the direction opposite to that which is considered as positive.
9.
Photography. noting an image in which the brightness values of the subject are reproduced so that the lightest areas are shown as the darkest.
10.
Electricity.
a.
of, pertaining to, or characterized by negative electricity.
b.
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.
11.
Medicine/Medical. failing to show a positive result in a test for a specific disease caused by either bacteria or viruses.
12.
Chemistry. (of an element or group) tending to gain electrons and become negatively charged; acid.
13.
Physiology. responding in a direction away from the stimulus.
14.
of, pertaining to, or noting the south pole of a magnet.
15.
COLLAPSELogic. (of a proposition) denying the truth of the predicate with regard to the subject.
noun
16.
a negative statement, answer, word, gesture, etc.: The ship signaled back a negative.
17.
a refusal of assent: to answer a request with a negative.
18.
the negative form of statement.
19.
a person or number of persons arguing against a resolution, statement, etc., especially a team upholding the negative side in a formal debate.
20.
EXPANDa negative quality or characteristic.
21.
disadvantage; drawback: The plan is generally brilliant, but it has one or two negatives.
22.
Mathematics.
a.
a minus sign.
b.
a negative quantity or symbol.
23.
Photography. a negative image, as on a film, used chiefly for making positives.
24.
Electricity. the negative plate or element in a voltaic cell.
25.
COLLAPSEArchaic. a veto, or right of veto: The delegation may exercise its negative.
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Negative
is always a great word to know.
So is proportion. Does it mean:
| a relation of four quantities such that the first divided by the second is equal to the third divided by the fourth; the equality of ratios |
| a symbol or number placed above and after another symbol or number to denote the power to which the latter is to be raised |
adverb
26.
(used to indicate a negative response): “You won't come with us?” “Negative.”
verb (used with object)
27.
to deny; contradict.
28.
to refute or disprove (something).
29.
to refuse assent or consent to; veto.
30.
to neutralize or counteract.
interjection
Idiom31.
(used to indicate disagreement, denial of permission, etc.): Negative, pilot—complete your mission as directed.
32.
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:
1350–1400; < Latin negātīvus denying (see negate, -ive); replacing Middle English negatif (noun and adj.) < Middle French < Latin as above
1350–1400; < Latin negātīvus denying (see negate, -ive); replacing Middle English negatif (noun and adj.) < Middle French < Latin as above
Related forms
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
Synonyms
6. uncooperative, antagonistic, hostile.
6. uncooperative, antagonistic, hostile.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To negative
Example Sentences
- This is not good public relations for the phone company and for sure it has a negative impact on business.
- They found that the pain led to decreased activity in the areas of the brain associated with negative emotion.
- Tourism has also caused a negative impact in some areas, through litter and severe erosion.
Collins
World English Dictionary
| negative (ˈnɛɡətɪv) | |
| —adj | |
| 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. | a. measured in a direction opposite to that regarded as positive |
| b. 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. | minus another word for minus |
| 8. | physics |
| a. (of an electric charge) having the same polarity as the charge of an electron | |
| b. (of a body, system, ion, etc) having a negative electric charge; having an excess of electrons | |
| c. (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 |
| —n | |
| 14. | a statement or act of denial, refusal, or negation |
| 15. | a negative person or thing |
| 16. | 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 |
| 17. | physics a negative object, such as a terminal or a plate in a voltaic cell |
| 18. | a sentence or other linguistic element with a negative meaning, as the English word not |
| 19. | a quantity less than zero or a quantity to be subtracted |
| 20. | logic a negative proposition |
| 21. | archaic the right of veto |
| 22. | in the negative indicating denial or refusal |
| —sentence substitute | |
| 23. | (esp in military communications) a signal code word for no |
| —vb | |
| 24. | to deny or nullify; negate |
| 25. | to show to be false; disprove |
| 26. | to refuse to consent to or approve of: the proposal was negatived |
| 'negatively | |
| —adv | |
| 'negativeness | |
| —n | |
| nega'tivity | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
negative
c.1400, from O.Fr. negatif (fem. negative), 13c., from L. negativus, from negare (see deny). The electricity sense is from 1799. The noun is c.1380 in the sense "a prohibition;" in the photographic sense first recorded 1853. Negativism is 1824 as "the policy of opposition;"
EXPANDin a psychological sense, it is attested from 1892.
COLLAPSE
"Negative Capability, that is when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, Mysteries, doubts without any irritable reaching after fact and reason." [John Keats, letter, Dec. 21, 1817]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
negative neg·a·tive (něg'ə-tĭv)
adj.
Expressing, containing, or consisting of a negation, refusal, or denial.
Marked by failure of response or absence of a reaction.
Not indicating the presence of microorganisms, disease, or a specific condition.
Moving or turning away from a stimulus, such as light.
Relating to or designating an electric charge of the same sign as that of an electron.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
negative  (něg'ə-tĭv) Pronunciation Key
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
negative definition
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Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia
negative
photographic image that reproduces the bright portions of the photographed subject as dark and the dark parts as light areas. Negatives are usually formed on a transparent material, such as plastic or glass. Exposure of sensitized paper through the negative, done either by placing the negative and paper in close contact or by projecting the negative image onto the paper, reverses these tones and produces a positive photographic print.
Learn more about negative with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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