negative

Bad, harmful, or unpleasant.

• The news had a negative effect.
• His review was mostly negative.
• The changes brought several negative consequences.

How to use it: a negative effect on something (The noise had a negative effect on her sleep.)

Similar words: bad, harmful, unfavourable

Opposites: positive

Common phrases: negative effect, negative impact, negative feedback

Thinking mainly about problems and expecting things to go badly.

• Try not to be so negative.
• She has a negative attitude towards change.
• Why are you always negative about new ideas?

How to use it: be negative about something (He is always negative about our plans.)

Similar words: pessimistic

Opposites: positive, optimistic

Common phrases: negative attitude, negative about something, negative thinking

Showing that a test did not find the condition or substance it was looking for.

• My test was negative.
• He tested negative for the infection.
• Both blood samples came back negative.

How to use it: test negative for something (She tested negative for the virus.)

Opposites: positive

Common phrases: negative test, test negative, come back negative

Expressing no, not, or never, or saying that something is not true.

• She gave a negative answer.
• “I do not swim” is a negative sentence.
• Change these statements into negative forms.

Similar words: denying

Opposites: affirmative

Common phrases: negative answer, negative sentence, negative form

Less than zero.

• Minus five is a negative number.
• The account showed a negative balance.
• Two negative numbers can produce a positive answer when multiplied.

Similar words: minus

Opposites: positive

Common phrases: negative number, negative value, negative balance

Having the type of electrical charge that electrons have.

• Electrons carry a negative charge.
• Connect the black wire to the negative terminal.
• A negative particle is attracted to a positive one.

Opposites: positive

Common phrases: negative charge, negative terminal, negative pole

A bad feature, disadvantage, or harmful part of something.

• The price is a major negative.
• We discussed the positives and negatives of moving.
• Long working hours were the only negative of the job.

Similar words: disadvantage, drawback, downside

Opposites: positive, advantage

Common phrases: a big negative, positives and negatives, negative of something

A photographic image whose light and dark areas, or colors, are reversed.

• Keep the negative for later.
• She made three prints from one negative.
• The photographer stored his negatives in paper sleeves.

Common phrases: photo negative, film negative, print from a negative, old negative