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negative

/ˈnɛɡ.ə.tɪv/noun, verb, adjective3 syllables

Negative means: characterized by or displaying negation or denial or opposition or resistance; having no positive features.

Synonyms for negative32

verb, as in vote against; refuse to endorse; refuse to assent

veto, blackball

adjective, as in characterized by or displaying negation or denial or opposition or resistance; having no positive features

antagonistic, counter, perverse, destructive, pessimistic, unsupportive

adjective, as in expressing or consisting of a negation or refusal or denial

dissentient, dissenting, dissident, disinclined, unfavorable, unfavourable

adjective, as in involving disadvantage or harm

minus, disadvantageous, unfavorable, unfavourable

adjective, as in having a negative charge

electronegative, negatively charged, charged

adjective, as in not indicating the presence of microorganisms or disease or a specific condition

disconfirming, Gram-negative

adjective, as in designed or tending to discredit, especially without positive or helpful suggestions

adjective, as in having the quality of something harmful or unpleasant

adjective, as in less than zero

also used for negative

undesirable, abysmal, atrocious, awful, chronic, coarse, corny, crap, negatory

Includes material from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Opposites of negative

What does negative mean?12

adjective

1

characterized by or displaying negation or denial or opposition or resistance; having no positive features“a negative outlook on life”

2

expressing or consisting of a negation or refusal or denial

3

involving disadvantage or harm“minus (or negative) factors”

4

having a negative charge“electrons are negative”

5

not indicating the presence of microorganisms or disease or a specific condition“the HIV test was negative”

6

designed or tending to discredit, especially without positive or helpful suggestions“negative criticism”

7

having the quality of something harmful or unpleasant“ran a negative campaign”

8

less than zero“a negative number”

9

reckoned in a direction opposite to that regarded as positive“negative interest rates”

verb

1

vote against; refuse to endorse; refuse to assent“The President vetoed the bill”

noun

1

a reply of denial“he answered in the negative”

2

a piece of photographic film showing an image with light and shade or colors reversed

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Negative in a sentence

  • I took a pregnancy test, but it was negative.Hybrid
  • The lower your self-esteem, the more you tend to focus on negative things.patgfisher
  • One of the poles is negative, while the other is positive.AlanF_US
  • In the negative, right and left, black and white are reversed.sadhen
  • Stop being so negative, for crying out loud.CK
  • To my surprise, her reply was flatly negative.unknown
  • I'll take the attention, even if it's negative.casaniere
  • If you didn't want a negative response, then don't ask for my opinion!espamatics

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.

Forms of negative

as a noun

plural
negatives

as a verb

past tense
negatived
present participle
negativing
third-person singular
negatives
past participle
negatived