What does negative mean in English?

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negative Meaning, Definition, Pronunciation, Grammar & Synonyms❤️

negative Meaning & Definition

En [ ˈneɡ.ə.tɪv]
Us [ ˈneɡ.ə.t̬ɪv]

Meaning of negative In English

0 expressing "no":
- We received a negative answer to our request.
- "I've never seen him in my life" is a negative sentence.
- "Don't" and "do not" are negative forms of "do".
1 not expecting good things, or likely to consider only the bad side of a situation:
- a negative attitude
- You're so negative about everything!
2 bad or harmful:
- The warm winter has had a very negative effect/impact on the ski industry.
3 of the type of electrical charge that is carried by electrons
4 (of a medical test) showing that the patient does not have the disease or condition for which he or she has been tested:
- a negative pregnancy test
- The results of his HIV test were negative.
5 (of a number or amount) less than zero:
- negative numbers
6 not having the rhesus factor in the blood:
- Her blood type is O negative.
7 a piece of film from which a photograph can be produced, and in which light and dark areas appear the opposite to the way in which they appear in the photograph:
- black-and-white/colour negatives
- I've borrowed the negatives of her wedding photos so I can get some pictures printed.
8 a word or statement that expresses "no":
- I didn't hear your answer, Ed - was that a negative?
- I'm afraid the reply was definitely in the negative (= was "no").
9 a bad feature or characteristic:
- He always looks for the negatives in any situation.
10 expressing no or not, or expressing refusal:
- We received a negative answer to our request.
11 not happy, hopeful, or approving; tending to consider only bad things:
- a negative attitude
- All the candidates in the mayoral campaign ran negative ads (= advertising saying bad things about each other).
12 (of a number or amount) less than zero:
- negative numbers
13 (of spaces and shapes in a painting, statue, drawing, etc.) empty, or lacking objects or other particular features; background
14 of the type of electrical charge that an electron has
15 a piece of film in which light areas appear dark and dark areas appear light, the opposite of how they will appear in the photograph made from it
16 a word, phrase, or statement that expresses no or not, or that expresses refusal:
- [ U ] The governor replied in the negative (= The governor said no).
17 bad or harmful:
- Its profits rose as higher sales and cost cuts offset the negative impact of lower prices.
- have a negative effect on sth This trade could eventually have a negative effect on the economy and prices.
- Recognizing the costly effects of negative publicity, the company began to study the environmental impacts of its products.
- negative aspects/consequences
18 expressing 'no':
- a negative answer/response
19 emphasizing the bad possibilities in a situation:
- be negative about sth Small and medium-size businesses were more negative about the economy than last year.
- negative attitudes/comments/reactions
20 less than zero:
- Employment growth was negative for manufacturing over the past year.
- Medical bills strained the budget, and before long their checking account had a negative balance.
21 a bad characteristic, piece of news, etc.:
- Traders see few negatives, saying hi-tech and telecoms shares will continue their rise.
22 to give an answer of 'no':
- Issuers that do not have a CUSIP number should answer Question 8 in the negative.

More Definitions of negative

Examples of negative

The negative reply to my complaint really irked me.
The negative reply dashed his spirits.
They gave a negative response to our request for help.
She used cognitive therapy on her client to try to inhibit those negative thoughts that were damaging his self-esteem.
Children's negative feelings often get acted out in bad behaviour.
There's no need to be so negative about things.
He's feeling very negative about his exams.
Why are you being so negative?

More Examples of negative

Trends of negative

Grammar of negative

0 Negation

When we want to say that something is not true or is not the case, we can use negative words, phrases or clauses. Negation can happen in a number of ways, most commonly, when we use a negative word such as no, not, never, none, nobody, etc:
1 Forming negative statements, questions and imperatives
2 Negation: two negatives

Standard English does not have two negatives in the same clause (double negatives). Words such as never, nobody, no one, none, nothing, nowhere, etc. already have a negative meaning, so we don’t need another negative with the verb:
3 Negative clauses with any, anybody, anyone, anything, anywhere

We don’t use not with some, someone, somebody, something, somewhere in statements. We use any, anyone, anybody, anything, anywhere:
4 Negation in non-finite clauses

Non-finite clauses are clauses without a subject, where the main verb is in the to-infinitive form, the -ing form or the -ed form. To make the negative of a non-finite clause, we can use not.