negatively
adverb
negatively is spelled N-E-G-A-T-I-V-E-L-Y: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 4.9 times per million words in written English, the 11,373rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, negatively means “In a negative manner; so as to be damaging or not positive” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in negatively?
| Letters | 10: N-E-G-A-T-I-V-E-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.9 times per million words; the 11,373rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is negatively?
Negatively appears 4.9 times per million words in written English, the 11,373rd 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 negatively?
- US
Negatively has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-negatively.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of negatively
- more negatively comparative
- most negatively superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does negatively mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In a negative manner; so as to be damaging or not positive.
- 2
In the negative; with the answer “no.”
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Negatively in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense in a negative manner:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | negativ |
| Portuguese | negativamente |
| Spanish | negativamente |
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 negatively come from?
From negative + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).