[neg.a.tive] adj (15c) 1 a: marked by denial, prohibition, or refusal "received a ~ answer"; also: marked by absence, withholding, or removal of something positive "the ~ motivation of shame --Garrett Hardin" b (1): denying a predicate of a subject or a part of a subject ""no A is B" is a ~ proposition" (2): denoting the absence or the contradictory of something "nontoxic is a ~ term" (3): expressing negation "~ particles such as no and not" c: adverse, unfavorable "the reviews were mostly ~"
2. a: lacking positive qualities; esp: disagreeable b: marked by features of hostility, withdrawal, or pessimism that hinder or oppose constructive treatment or development "a ~ outlook" "~ criticism" 3 a (1): less than zero and opposite in sign to a positive number that when added to the given number yields zero "-2 is a ~ number" (2): having more outgo than income: constituting a loss "~ cash flow" "~ worth" b: extending or generated in a direction opposite to an arbitrarily chosen regular direction or position "~ angle"
4. a: being, relating to, or charged with electricity of which the electron is the elementary unit b: having more electrons than protons "a ~ ion" c (1): having lower electric potential and constituting the part toward which the current flows from the external circuit "the ~ pole" (2): being the electron-emitting electrode of an electron tube
5. a: not affirming the presence of the organism or condition in question "a ~ TB test" b: directed or moving away from a source of stimulation "~ tropism" c: less than the pressure of the atmosphere "~ pressure"
6: having the light and dark parts in approximately inverse order to those of the original photographic subject
7. of a lens: diverging light rays and forming a virtual inverted image -- neg.a.tive.ly adv -- neg.a.tive.ness n -- neg.a.tiv.i.ty n
[2]negative n (1571) 1 a (1): a reply that indicates the withholding of assent: refusal (2) archaic: a right of veto (3) obs: an adverse vote: veto b: a proposition which denies or contradicts another; esp: the one of a pair of propositions in which negation is expressed
2. a: something that is the opposite or negation of something else b: drawback, liability 3 a: an expression (as the word no) of negation or denial b: a negative number
4: the side that upholds the contradictory proposition in a debate
5: a negative photographic image on transparent material used for printing positive pictures; also: the material that carries such an image
6: a reverse impression taken from a piece of sculpture or ceramics [3]negative vt -tived ; -tiv.ing (1706) 1 a: to refuse assent to b: to reject by or as if by a vote
2: to demonstrate the falsity of
3: to deny the truth, reality, or validity of
4: neutralize, counteract