# negation

> English word · Noun · IPA /nəˈɡeɪʃn̩/ · frequency rank #35,426

## Definitions
1. The act of negating something.
2. A denial or contradiction.
3. A proposition which is the contradictory of another proposition and which can be obtained from that other proposition by the appropriately placed addition/insertion of the word "not". (Or, in symbolic logic, by prepending that proposition with the symbol for the logical operator "not".)
4. The logical operation which obtains such (negated) propositions.

## Etymology
From Middle English negacioun, from Old French negacion, from Latin negātiō (“a denial; negative word”). Morphologically negate + -ion.

## Easily confused with
- **negative** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/negation-vs-negative)
- **notation** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/negation-vs-notation)
- **nation** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nation-vs-negation)

## Common misspellings (12)
`engation`, `neagtion`, `negaiton`, `negasion`, `negatino`, `negationn`, `negatoin`, `negattion`, `neggation`, `negtaion`, `ngeation`, `nnegation`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/negation