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negative
1 a: marked by denial, prohibition, or refusal <received a negative answer>
; also : marked by absence, withholding, or removal of something positive <the negative 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 negative proposition>
(2): denoting the absence or the contradictory of something <nontoxic is a negative term>
(3): expressing negation <negative particles such as no and not> c: adverse
, unfavorable <the reviews were mostly negative>2 a: lacking positive qualities
; especially : disagreeable b: marked by features of hostility, withdrawal, or pessimism that hinder or oppose constructive treatment or development <a negative outlook> <negative criticism> c: promoting a person or cause by criticizing or attacking the competition <ran a negative campaign> <negative advertising>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 negative number>
(2): having more outgo than income : constituting a loss <negative cash flow> <negative worth> b: extending or generated in a direction opposite to an arbitrarily chosen regular direction or position <negative 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 negative ion> c
(1): having lower electric potential and constituting the part toward which the current flows from the external circuit <the negative pole>
(2): being the electron-emitting electrode of an electron tube5 a: not affirming the presence of a condition, substance, or organism suspected to be present
; also : having a test result indicating the absence especially of a condition, substance, or organism <she is HIV negative> b: directed or moving away from a source of stimulation <negative tropism> c: less than the pressure of the atmosphere <negative pressure>6: having the light and dark parts in approximately inverse relation to those of the original photographic subject7of a lens : diverging light rays and forming a virtual inverted image
— neg·a·tive·ly adverb
— neg·a·tive·ness noun
— neg·a·tiv·i·ty
\ˌne-gə-ˈti-və-tē\
noun
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