negative

Name: negative, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˈnɛɡ.ə.tɪv/

//ˈnɛɡ.ə.tɪv// adj

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“negative” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,700 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#1,700
frequency rank, English: 8
letters: 11
tracked misspellings: 4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Not positive or neutral; bad; undesirable; unfavourable.

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
Property	Value
Headword	negative
Language	English
Part of speech	Adjective
IPA	/ˈnɛɡ.ə.tɪv/
Letters	8
Frequency rank	#1,700
Misspellings tracked	11
Confusable pairs	4
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “negative” sits in English frequency

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

#1,700

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for negative is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈnɛɡ.ə.tɪv/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,700 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 14 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

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
Not positive or neutral; bad; undesirable; unfavourable.
2
Of a number: less than zero.
3
Of a number: less than zero.
4
Of a test result: not positive, not detected.
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.
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
Metalloidal, nonmetallic; contrasted with positive or basic.
10
Often preceded by emotion, energy, feeling, or thought: to be avoided, bad, difficult, disagreeable, painful, potentially damaging, unpleasant, unwanted.
11
Characterized by the presence of features which do not support a hypothesis.
12
HIV negative.
13
COVID-19 negative.
14
No, not any, zero.

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.

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.

Using “negative”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is N-E-G-A-T-I-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /ˈnɛɡ.ə.tɪv/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Don't mix it up with “negatively” - see the side-by-side comparison. negative vs negatively
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.