negative

/ˈnɛɡ.ə.tɪv/

//ˈnɛɡ.ə.tɪv// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"negative" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“negative” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,700. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,700
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Not positive or neutral; bad; undesirable; unfavourable.

Corpus desk

Index EN-negative · negative · English

negative · rank #1,700 · 11 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,700
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH movies

Nearest frequency peer: movies (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “negative”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “negative” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

negative vs negatively
80% similar
negative vs native
75% similar
negative vs negate
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for negative
PropertyValue
Headwordnegative
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈnɛɡ.ə.tɪv/
Letters8
Frequency rank#1,700
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “negative”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).negativelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “movies” (#1,699), “prevent” (#1,701), “leaves” (#1,698). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “negative” is #1,700. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around negative (IPA /ˈnɛɡ.ə.tɪv/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #1,700 among 1,534 “N” headwords. Wiktionary lists 14 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for negative, with forms such as "engative", "neagtive", and "negaitve". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "negatively", "native", "negate", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English negative, negatif, from Old French negatif, from Latin negātīvus (“that denies, negative”), from negāre (“to deny”); see negate. The correct English form is negative, spelled N-E-G-A-T-I-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Not positive or neutral; bad; undesirable; unfavourable.
  2. 2
    Of a number: less than zero.
  3. 3
    Of a number: less than zero.
  4. 4
    Of a test result: not positive, not detected.
  5. 5
    Of electrical charge of an electron and related particles
  6. 6
    Denying a proposition; negating a concept.
  7. 7
    Pessimistic; not tending to see the bright side of things.
  8. 8
    Of or relating to a photographic image in which the colours of the original, and the relations of left and right, are reversed.
  9. 9
    Metalloidal, nonmetallic; contrasted with positive or basic.
  10. 10
    Often preceded by emotion, energy, feeling, or thought: to be avoided, bad, difficult, disagreeable, painful, potentially damaging, unpleasant, unwanted.
  11. 11
    Characterized by the presence of features which do not support a hypothesis.
  12. 12
    HIV negative.
  13. 13
    COVID-19 negative.
  14. 14
    No, not any, zero.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how negative appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The high exchange rate will have a negative effect on our profits.
  2. Customers didn’t like it: feedback was mostly negative.

Etymology

From Middle English negative, negatif, from Old French negatif, from Latin negātīvus (“that denies, negative”), from negāre (“to deny”); see negate.

Antonyms

positive

This word in other languages

negativo(Español)négatif(Français)negativ(Deutsch)negativo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • engative
  • neagtive
  • negaitve
  • negatiev
  • negativve
  • negattive
  • negatvie
  • neggative
  • negtaive
  • ngeative
  • nnegative

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of negative - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

engative2neagtive2negaitve2negatiev2negativve1negattive1negatvie2neggative1
Edit distance from "negative"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "negative"?
"negative" is spelled N-E-G-A-T-I-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈnɛɡ.ə.tɪv/.
What does "negative" mean?
As an adjective, "negative" means: Not positive or neutral; bad; undesirable; unfavourable.
What words are commonly confused with "negative"?
"negative" is commonly confused with "negatively", "native", "negate". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "negative"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "negative" is /ˈnɛɡ.ə.tɪv/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "negative"?
From Middle English negative, negatif, from Old French negatif, from Latin negātīvus (“that denies, negative”), from negāre (“to deny”); see negate. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "negative", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

greatest#1,694function#1,720strength#1,677somebody#1,675

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

prevent11 variantsRichard11 variantshelping11 variantsherself11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list