- The definition of negative is something that refuses or denies, a person or thing that is not positive, or the opposite of a positive electrical charge.
- An example of negative is someone giving a "no" response to a party invitation.
- An example of negative is a person with a "glass is half empty" view on life.
- An example of negative is an electrical charge that is attracted to a positive charge.
- A negative is defined as a person or thing that refuses or denies, or is undesirable, unwanted or disliked.
- An example of a negative is the "no" response given by a person.
- An example of a negative is a cab driver who gets lost all the time.
- A negative is defined as the reverse impression of something.
An example of a negative is the film strip that gets returned with photos printed from a 35mm film camera.
- containing, expressing, or implying a denial or refusal; that says “no”: a negative reply
- opposite to something regarded as positive; specif.,
- lacking in positive character or quality
- lacking evidence, affirmation, etc.
- having the effect of diminishing, depriving, or denying
- faultfinding, antagonistic, destructive, etc.: negative criticism, a negative political campaign
- Biol. directed away from the source of a stimulus: negative tropism
- of, generating, or charged with negative electricity
- having an excess of electrons
- Logic denying something about a subject: “no reptiles are warmblooded” is a negative proposition
- Math. designating a quantity less than zero, or one to be subtracted; minus quantity
- Med. not having or not demonstrating, showing, or proving the presence or existence of a condition, infection, symptoms, bacteria, etc.: a patient who is negative for TB; the X-rays were negative
- Optics forming a virtual image by diverging light rays: said of a lens
- Photog. reversing the relation of light and shade of the subject
Origin of negativeMiddle English negatife from Old French or L: Old French négatif from Classical Latin negativus from negatus: see negation
- a word, affix, phrase, etc. that denies, rejects, or refuses (Ex.: no, not, by no means)
- a statement of denial, refusal, or rejection
- the point of view that denies or attacks the positive or affirmative: the negative won the debate
- an undesirable element or quality; drawback, shortcoming, defect, etc.
- an impression of something, as a sculpture, that shows it in reverse
- Obs. the right of veto
- Elec. a terminal, electrode, or plate having an excess of electrons flowing out toward a positive terminal, electrode, or plate, as in a storage battery or dry cell
- Math. a quantity less than zero, or one to be subtracted; minus quantity
- Photog. an exposed and developed photographic film or plate on which light and shadow are the reverse of what they are in the positive printed from this
transitive verb-·tived, -·tiv·ing
- to refuse; reject
- to veto (a candidate, motion, or bill)
- to deny; contradict
- to prove false; disprove
- to counteract; neutralize
in the negative
- in refusal or denial of a plan, suggestion, etc.
- with a denial or negative answer
- a. Expressing, containing, or consisting of a negation, refusal, or denial: gave a negative answer to our request.b. Indicating opposition or resistance: a negative reaction to the new advertising campaign.
- Lacking positive or constructive features, especially:a. Unpleasant; disagreeable: had a negative experience on his first job.b. Gloomy; pessimistic: a negative outlook.c. Unfavorable or detrimental: a negative review; a negative effect on the child's development.d. Hostile or disparaging; malicious: ran a negative campaign against her opponent.
- Medicine Not indicating the presence of a particular disease, condition, or organism.
- Philosophy Of or relating to non-being or the absence of qualities rather than being or the possession of qualities: the purely negative virtue of unselfishness.
- Logic Designating a proposition that denies agreement between a subject and its predicate.
- Mathematics a. Of or relating to a quantity less than zero.b. Of or relating to the sign (−).c. Of or relating to a quantity to be subtracted from another.d. 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.
- Physics a. Of or relating to an electric charge of the same sign as that of an electron, indicated by the symbol (−).b. Of or relating to a body that has more electrons than protons.
- Chemistry Of or relating to an ion, the anion, that is attracted to a positive electrode.
- Biology Moving or turning away from a stimulus, such as light: a negative tropism.
- A statement or act indicating or expressing a contradiction, denial, or refusal.
- a. A statement or act that is highly critical of another or of others: campaign advertising that was based solely on negatives.b. 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 )c. 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 )
- Grammar A word or part of a word, such as no, not, or non-, that indicates negation. See Usage Note at double negative.
- The side in a debate that contradicts or opposes the question being debated.
- a. An image in which the light areas of the object rendered appear dark and the dark areas appear light.b. A film, plate, or other photographic material containing such an image.
- Mathematics A negative quantity.
transitive verbneg·a·tived, neg·a·tiv·ing, neg·a·tives
- To refuse to approve; veto.
- To deny; contradict.
- To demonstrate to be false; disprove.
- To counteract or neutralize.
Origin of negativeMiddle English from Old French negatif from Latin negātīvus from negātus past participle of negāre to deny ; see negate .
- neg′a·tive·ness neg′a·tiv′i·ty
(comparative more negative, superlative most negative)
- not positive or neutral
- (physics) of electrical charge of an electron and related particles [from the 18th c.]
- (mathematics) of number, less than zero
- (linguistics, logic) denying a proposition
- damaging; undesirable; unfavourable
- pessimistic; not tending to see the bright side of things. (Often used pejoratively.)
- Of or relating to a photographic image in which the colours of the original, and the relations of right and left, are reversed.
- (chemistry) metalloidal; nonmetallic; contrasted with positive or basic.
- The nitro group is negative.
- (New Age jargon) (pejorative) bad, unwanted, disagreeable, potentially damaging, to be avoided, unpleasant, difficult, painful; (often precedes 'energy', 'feeling', 'emotion' or 'thought').
- refusal or withholding of assents; veto, prohibition [from the 15th c.]
- (law) a right of veto
- (photography) an image in which dark areas represent light ones, and the converse [from the 19th c.]
- (grammar) a word that indicates negation
- (mathematics) a negative quantity
- (weightlifting): A rep performed with weight in which the muscle begins at maximum contraction and is slowly extended; a movement performed using only the eccentric phase of muscle movement.
- The negative plate of a voltaic or electrolytic cell.
(third-person singular simple present negatives, present participle negativing, simple past and past participle negatived)
negative - Computer Definition
Something with the same charge (