negative

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I must admit that in that respect my negative was accepted at once.

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Definitions (83)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (30)

  1. adjective Expressing, containing, or consisting of a negation, refusal, or denial: gave a negative answer to our request.
  2. adjective Indicating opposition or resistance: a negative reaction to the new advertising campaign.
  3. adjective Lacking positive or constructive features, especially:

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Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (3)

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Examples (50)

  • Proving a negative was always the hardest thing in any investigation, Lindsay knew from her long journalistic experience. —  Booked for Murder—McDermid, Val - Lindsay Gordon 05
  • For the purposes of ma- thematical calculus it is indifferent which force we term negative, and which positive, and con- sequently we appropriate the latter to that, which happens to be the principal object in our thoughts. —  Biographia Literaria
  • Too often the negative is the focus instead of the positive. —  The Times Today's News
  • And then, the negative was the 17\% organic decline in the Water business as Chris mentioned, very much the Australia compare which probably does start to go away in the quarter we're now in, and that's why expect organic revenue in Flow in this second quarter to be in the high single digits from only 1\% in the first quarter. —  Gadgets Sector and Stocks Analysis from Seeking Alpha
  • However, Ahmadinejad warns that Iran will give Barack Obama what he described as a negative response should Iran be convinced Obama is not honest in his policy of engagement.
 

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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

positive ·  similar ·  strong

Used in the same contextWord Family

negative:   negatives
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English, from Old French negatif, from Latin negātīvus, from negātus, past participle of negāre, to deny; see negate.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. = French négatif = Provencal negatiu = Spanish Portuguese Italian negativo, from Latin negativus, that denies, negative, from negare, past participle negatus, deny: see negate.
  2. from negative, adjective
 

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/ˈnɛgətɪv/
by American Heritage

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