Negative

English Meaning

Denying; implying, containing, or asserting denial, negation or refusal; returning the answer no to an inquiry or request; refusing assent; as, a negative answer; a negative opinion; -- opposed to affirmative.

1. Expressing, containing, or consisting of a negation, refusal, or denial: gave a negative answer to our request.
2. Indicating opposition or resistance: a negative reaction to the new advertising campaign.
3. Lacking positive or constructive features, especially:
4. Unpleasant; disagreeable: had a negative experience on his first job.
5. Gloomy; pessimistic: a negative outlook.
6. Unfavorable or detrimental: a negative review; a negative effect on the child's development.
7. Hostile or disparaging; malicious: ran a negative campaign against her opponent.
8. Medicine Not indicating the presence of a particular disease, condition, or organism.
9. Logic Designating a proposition that denies agreement between a subject and its predicate.
10. Mathematics Of or relating to a quantity less than zero.
11. Mathematics Of or relating to the sign (-).
12. Mathematics Of or relating to a quantity to be subtracted from another.
13. Mathematics Of or relating to a quantity, number, angle, velocity, or direction in a sense opposite to another of the same magnitude indicated or understood to be positive.
14. Physics Of or relating to an electric charge of the same sign as that of an electron, indicated by the symbol (-).
15. Physics Of or relating to a body having an excess of electrons.
16. Chemistry Of or relating to an ion, the anion, that is attracted to a positive electrode.
17. Biology Moving or turning away from a stimulus, such as light: a negative tropism.
18. A statement or act indicating or expressing a contradiction, denial, or refusal.
19. A statement or act that is highly critical of another or of others: campaign advertising that was based solely on negatives.
20. Something that lacks all positive, affirmative, or encouraging features; an element that is the counterpoint of the positive: "Life is full of overwhelming odds. You can't really eliminate the negatives but you can diminish them” ( Art Linkletter).
21. A feature or characteristic that is not deemed positive, affirmative, or desirable: "As voters get to know his liberal views, his negatives will rise” ( Richard M. Nixon).
22. Grammar A word or part of a word, such as no, not, or non-, that indicates negation. See Usage Note at double negative.
23. The side in a debate that contradicts or opposes the question being debated.
24. An image in which the light areas of the object rendered appear dark and the dark areas appear light.
25. A film, plate, or other photographic material containing such an image.
26. Mathematics A negative quantity.
27. To refuse to approve; veto.
28. To deny; contradict.
29. To demonstrate to be false; disprove.
30. To counteract or neutralize.