negativity

adjective

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.

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.

10.

Electricity.

of, pertaining 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.

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.

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

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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.

a negative quality or characteristic.

21.

disadvantage; drawback: The plan is generally brilliant, but it has one or two negatives.

22.

Mathematics.

a minus sign.

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.

Archaic. a veto, or right of veto: The delegation may exercise its negative.

00:10

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So is doohickey. Does it mean:

a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.

a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.

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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

31.

(used to indicate disagreement, denial of permission, etc.): Negative, pilot—complete your mission as directed.

Idioms

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

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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To negativity

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

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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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;"

in a psychological sense, it is attested from 1892.

"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]

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.

American Heritage

Science Dictionary

negative

(něg'ə-tĭv) Pronunciation Key

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.

Slang Dictionary

negative definition

n.
any drawback or bad thing about someone or something. : There are too many negatives associated with your plan.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

Example sentences

Some people would have moments of struggle, moments of negativity, but then the

whole groups energy kind of pushed everybody up.

And you wonder why there might be some negativity on this thread.

The incentives tend to be stacked against negativity, and in some cases

implicitly discourage it.

Grammar is important but the negativity isn't needed.

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negative

Matching Quote

"[Catholicism] offers a much richer pasturage and shade to the fancy, has so many cells with so many different kinds of honey, is so indulgent in its multiform appeals to human nature, that Protestantism will always show to Catholic eyes the almshouse physiognomy. The bitter negativity of it is to the Catholic mind incomprehensible. To intellectual Catholics many of the antiquated beliefs and practices to which the Church gives countenance are, if taken literally, as childish as they are to Protestants. But they are childish in the pleasing sense of "childlike",—innocent and amiable, and worthy to be smiled on in consideration of the undeveloped condition of the dear people's intellects. To the Protestant, on the contrary, they are childish in the sense of being idiotic falsehoods. He must stamp out their delicate and lovable redundancy, leaving the Catholic to shudder at his literalness. He appears to the latter as morose as if he were some hard-eyed, numb, monotonous kind of reptile. The two will never understand each other—their centres of emotional energy are too different."

-William James