negative

/ˈne-gə-tiv/

Middle English negatyff, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French negatif, borrowed from Latin negātīvus "(of legal actions) restraining, (of words) denying," from negātus (past participle of negāre "to say no, deny") + -īvus -ive

adjective

  1. marked by denial, prohibition, or refusal; also : marked by absence, withholding, or removal of something positive

  2. denying a predicate of a subject or a part of a subject

  3. denoting the absence or the contradictory of something

received a negative answer

noun

  1. a reply that indicates the withholding of assent : refusal

  2. a right of veto

  3. an adverse vote : veto

verb

  1. to refuse assent to

  2. to reject by or as if by a vote

  3. to demonstrate the falsity of