negative
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$ \mathrm{negative}^1 /ˈneɡətɪv/
bad
The crisis had a negative effect on trade.
Government cuts will have a negative impact on public services.
The whole experience was definitely more positive than negative.
Collocations
verbs
adverb
preposition
grammar
2 containing a word such as ‘no’, ‘not’, ‘never’, etc.
a negative form/sentence
no
3 expressing the answer ‘no’
His response was negative.
They received a negative reply.
not hopeful
4 considering only the bad side of something/somebody; having no enthusiasm or hope
Scientists have a fairly negative attitude to the theory.
The developers' proposal received negative feedback from neighbours.
‘He probably won't show up.’ ‘Don't be so negative.’
negative about something
She's been rather negative about the idea.
negative in something
He was too negative in his thinking.
scientific test
5 (abbreviation neg.) not showing any evidence of a particular substance or medical condition
Her pregnancy test was negative.
Negative results are not a guarantee of a safe water supply.
He tested negative for HIV infection.
Collocations
adverb
verbs
preposition
electricity
6 (specialist) containing or producing the type of electricity that is carried by an electron
a negative charge/current
the negative terminal of a battery
number/quantity
7 less than zero
a negative trade balance
The industry suffered negative growth (= a decline) throughout the decade.
TOPICS Maths and measurementB2
image
8 (of a photograph or an image) showing light and shade, or colours, in the opposite way to the original
In a negative image of the photograph, dark is light and right is left.
$ \mathrm{negative}^2 /ˈneɡətɪv/
no
1 a word or statement that means ‘no’; an act of refusing to do something or of denying something
in the negative (formal) She answered in the negative (= said ‘no’).
Collocations
phrases
bad quality
2 the negative a bad quality or aspect of a situation
Try not to focus on the negative.
The positives outweigh the negatives.
in scientific test
3 the result of a test or an experiment that shows that a substance or condition is not present
The percentage of false negatives generated by the cancer test is of great concern.
grammar
4 a word such as ‘no’, ‘not’, ‘never’, etc.
Double negatives, as in ‘I don't want no dinner’, are considered an error in English.
in photography
5 a developed film showing the dark areas of an actual scene as light and the light areas as dark
Keep the negatives in case you want more prints later.
Collocations
adjective
… of negatives
verb + negative
$ \mathrm{negative}^3 /ˈneɡətɪv/
(formal)
1 negative something to refuse to agree to a proposal or a request
2 negative something to prove that something is not true
Word Origin