negative

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an emphatic form of no used for clarity, has been extended since about the 1950s from the language of radio communication into general use:

'Any result of my application for the return of my typist?' 'Negative,' said Mr Oates—Evelyn Waugh, 1961.

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Photographic image that reverses shadow and light areas so that light-sensitive paper exposed (see exposure) through a negative will show the correct positive image.

adjective

Tending to discourage, retard, or make more difficult: adverse, disadvantageous, unadvantageous, unfavorable, unsatisfactory, untoward. See help/harm/harmless.

verb

1. To prevent or forbid authoritatively: blackball, turn down, veto. Slang nix. Idioms: turn thumbs down on. See accept/reject.
2. To refuse to admit the truth, reality, value, or worth of: contradict, contravene, controvert, deny, disaffirm, gainsay, negate, oppugn. Law traverse. See affirm/deny/argue.

adj

Definition: bad, contradictory
Antonyms: affirmative, good, positive

n

Definition: contradiction
Antonyms: affirmation, positive

The formal definition of a negative, i.e. an image with all the tones of the original scene reversed, is so well known as to be virtually redundant here. But the first photographs— daguerreotypes—were not made from negatives: they were positives: they reproduced the tones of the original in direct proportion. One might speculate that had it not been for the enthusiastic reception of Henry Talbot's negative-positive process, photographic technology might have bypassed it and gone straight to reversal processing (not much more complicated than negative processing), leaving the concept of a negative image to a few quirky philosophers. Indeed, with the advent of scanning techniques and digital photography, both of which produce direct positives, the photographic negative may already have had its day, apart from the work of a small band of enthusiasts continuing to work with cyanotype and dichromated colloids. But although the idea of a direct positive is inherently simpler, there is an undoubted attraction about the negative-positive process that transcends its obvious complexity. Its adaptability may ensure its survival, especially in the case of colour negatives (in which not only the tones but also the hues are reversed). While it is true that many professional photographers work exclusively with colour transparency material, there is no doubt that the colour negative-positive process, with its integral colour masking, can provide a truer colour rendering than can be achieved in a one-step colour process; and for the many enthusiasts who prefer to produce their colour prints in the darkroom, the process has almost unlimited flexibility.

— Graham Saxby

Terminal that has an excess of electrons.

IN BRIEF: Not positive.

A deadline is negative inspiration. Still, it's better than no inspiration at all. — Rita Mae Brown, American writer.

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sign description: The index finger is placed up against the palm of the opposite flat hand.

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As used in air traffic control terminology, it means, “No,” or “Permission not granted,” or “That is not correct.”

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1. (of an electric charge) having the same polarity as an electron.
2. (of a chemical entity) having a negative electric charge; having an excess of electrons.
3. (of a point in an electric circuit) having a lower potential than some other point to which a potential of zero is assigned.
4. (in photography) an exposed and developed photographic film or plate showing an image in reversed tones, or complementary colours, to those of the object photographed.
5. a quantity less than zero.

—negativeness or negativity n.

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1. having a value of less than zero.
2. indicating lack or absence, as coagulase-negative or Brucella-negative.
3. characterized by denial or opposition.

• n. feedback — see feedback.
• n. reinforcement — in animal psychology the stimuli which produce withdrawal, immobility, aversion, escape.

For a list of words related to negative, see:

• Sculpture Tools and Techniques - negative: shell-like mold or impression into which casting material is poured or pressed
• Graphic Design - negative: film on which values of a recorded image are the reverse of the original, used for duplication
• Tools and Techniques - negative: exposed film image with light and shade tones opposite original image
• Troublesome, Negative, Irresponsible, or Unpleasant

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This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - negativ, nægtende
n. - afslag, benægtelse
v. tr. - forkaste, modbevise, neutralisere

idioms:

• in the negative    nægtende (svar)
• negative equity    negativ egenkapital
• negative feedback    negativ respons
• negative income tax    negativ indkomstskat
• negative pole    minuspol, negativ pol

Nederlands (Dutch)
negatief, verwerping, ontkenning, weigering, negatieve eigenschap, fotonegatief, de ontkennende vorm (taalkundig), ontkennend, resusnegatief, nee, afwijzen, afkeuren, ontkrachten, weerleggen

Français (French)
adj. - négatif, néfaste, (Ling) négatif, (Chim, Électron, Phys, Méd) négatif
n. - réponse négative, (Phot) négatif, cliché, (Ling) négation, (Électron) négatif
v. tr. - rejeter, s'opposer à, repousser, contredire, réfuter, neutraliser

idioms:

• in the negative    (Ling) à la forme négative
• negative equity    moins-value d'une propriété hypothéquée
• negative feedback    feedback négatif
• negative income tax    impôt négatif
• negative pole    pôle négatif

Deutsch (German)
n. - Negativ, Negation, Verneinung, negative Eigenschaft
adj. - negativ, verneinend
v. - ablehnen, widerlegen, widersprechen, unwirksam machen

idioms:

• in the negative    ablehnend, nein
• negative equity    Schulden, die den Hypothekenwert übersteigen
• negative feedback    negative Rückkopplung
• negative income tax    negative Einkommenssteuer
• negative pole    Minuspol, negativer Pol

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - αρνητικό (φωτογραφίας), αρνητική λέξη, (γραμμ.) αρνητική σύνταξη
adj. - αρνητικός, επιζήμιος
v. - αντικρούω, αρνούμαι, προβάλλω βέτο

idioms:

• in the negative    αρνητικά, αποφατικά
• negative equity    χρέος από υποτίμηση της αξίας του υποθηκευμένου ακινήτου
• negative feedback    αρνητική ανάδραση
• negative income tax    αρνητικός φόρος εισοδήματος, επιστροφή φόρου
• negative pole    (φυσ.) αρνητικός πόλος

Italiano (Italian)
negativa, negazione, negativo, negare

idioms:

• in the negative    negativamente
• negative equity    scopertura di ipoteca
• negative feedback    ripercussione negativa
• negative income tax    imposta negativa
• negative pole    polo negativo

Português (Portuguese)
n. - negativa (f), veto (m), negativo (Fot.)
adj. - negativo, contrário, nulo
v. - negar, vetar, desaprovar, rejeitar

idioms:

• in the negative    sob forma de uma resposta negativa
• negative equity    patrimônio negativo
• negative feedback    realimentação negativa
• negative income tax    imposto de renda negativo
• negative pole    pólo negativo

Русский (Russian)
отрицательный полюс, отрицание, негатив, отрицательный, отклонять, налагать вето

idioms:

• in the negative    отрицательно
• negative equity    жилище упало в цене
• negative feedback    отрицательные отклики
• negative income tax    отрицательный подоходный налог
• negative pole    отрицательный полюс

Español (Spanish)
adj. - negativo, denegatorio, prohibitivo
n. - negativa, negación, denegación
v. tr. - negar, contradecir, rechazar, neutralizar

idioms:

• in the negative    negativamente
• negative equity    cuando el valor de la hipoteca es mayor que el de la propiedad
• negative feedback    retroalimentación negativa
• negative income tax    impuesto negativo sobre la renta
• negative pole    polo negativo

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - nekande svar, negation, negativ, negativ storhet (mat.)
adj. - negativ, nekande, avvisande, negerande, resultatlös
v. - motbevisa, bestrida, avslå, förkasta, neutralisera, negera (gram.)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
否定的, 负的, 消极的, 否定, 底片, 负数, 拒绝

idioms:

• in the negative    否定地
• negative equity    负资产抵押, 指向抵押放款公司抵押的家产值不足抵押款
• negative feedback    负反馈
• negative income tax    逆所得税, 最低收入补贴
• negative pole    负极, 阴极

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 否定的, 負的, 消極的
n. - 否定, 底片, 負數
v. tr. - 否定, 拒絕

idioms:

• in the negative    否定地
• negative equity    負資產抵押, 指向抵押放款公司抵押的家產值不足抵押款
• negative feedback    負反饋
• negative income tax    逆所得稅, 最低收入補貼
• negative pole    負極, 陰極

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 부정적인, 소극적인, (수학)마이너스의
n. - 부정, 거부권, 소극성, 음화
v. tr. - 거부하다, 논박하다, 무효화 하다

idioms:

• in the negative    부정적인[으로]

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 否定の, 消極的な, 報われない, 実りのない, 協調性を欠く, 不愉快な, 負の, 陰性の, ネガの
n. - 否定の言説, 否定命題, 否定の立場をとる側, 負数, 否定的側面, 陰極板, 原板, ネガ, 負の数, 否定, 拒否, 陰極
v. - 拒否する, 論駁する, 無効にする, 中和する, 否定する
adv. - いいえ

idioms:

• in the negative    否定して, 否定の返事で
• negative equity    借金がある
• negative feedback    負帰還
• negative income tax    負の所得税
• negative pole    陰極

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) الصورة السلبيه, رفض, نقيض, اللوح السالب (صفه) سالب, سلبي, هدام (فعل) يرفض, ينكر, يبطل‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮שלילי, של סוג המטען החשמלי של האלקטרונים‬
n. - ‮שלילה, מילת שלילה, תשליל‬
v. tr. - ‮שלל, דחה, הפריך, סירב, התנגד‬

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Some good "negative" pages on the web: