negative
neg·a·tive/ˈnɛɡ.ə.tɪv/adjective, noun, verb, interjection
negative is spelled N-E-G-A-T-I-V-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables (neg·a·tive). It appears 62 times per million words in written English, the 1,696th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, negative means “Not positive or neutral; bad; undesirable; unfavourable” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in negative?
| Letters | 8: N-E-G-A-T-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: neg·a·tive |
| In writing | 62 times per million words; the 1,696th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is negative?
Negative appears 62 times per million words in written English, the 1,696th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce negative?
- /ˈnɛɡ.ə.tɪv/
- [-ɾɪv]
Negative has 3 syllables, split neg·a·tive in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-negative.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with negative?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as negative.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: agentive.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of negative
- more negative comparative
- most negative superlative
- −ve
- negatives plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- negativing participle, present
- negatived participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does negative mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Not positive or neutral; bad; undesirable; unfavourable.
The high exchange rate will have a negative effect on our profits.
- 2
Of a number: less than zero.
- 3
Less than zero degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit.
I was out in negative weather today.
- 4
Of a test result: not positive, not detected.
negative detection of.
- 5
Of electrical charge of an electron and related particles
- 6
Denying a proposition; negating a concept.
- 7
Pessimistic; not tending to see the bright side of things.
I don’t like to hang around him very much because he can be so negative about his petty problems.
- 8
Of or relating to a photographic image in which the colours of the original, and the relations of left and right, are reversed.
noun
- 1
Refusal or withholding of assents; prohibition, veto
- 2
An unfavorable point or characteristic.
- 3
A right of veto.
And as to the Constitutionality of laws, that point will come before the Judges in their proper official character. In this character they have a negative on the laws.
- 4
An image in which dark areas represent light ones, and the converse.
- 5
A word that indicates negation.
- 6
A negative quantity.
- 7
A repetition performed with a weight in which the muscle begins at maximum contraction and is slowly extended; a movement performed using only the eccentric phase of muscle movement.
- 8
The negative plate of a voltaic or electrolytic cell.
verb
- 1
To refuse; to veto.
- 2
To contradict.
- 3
To disprove.
- 4
To make ineffective; to neutralize; to negate.
interjection
- 1
No; nay.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate negative?
Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of negative: neg, neg..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Negative in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | négatif , strictement négatif , film négatif |
| German | negativ , Negativfilm, Negativ |
| Portuguese | negativo , negativa |
| Spanish | negativo , negación |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does negative come from?
From Middle English negative, negatif, from Old French negatif, from Latin negātīvus (“that denies, negative”), from negāre (“to deny”); see negate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).