Negative carry private equity. lacking positive attributes (opposed to positive): a dull, lifeless, negative character. The meaning of NEGATIVE is marked by denial, prohibition, or refusal; also : marked by absence, withholding, or removal of something positive. This will negatively affect the result over the first half of the year. When we want to say that something is not true or is not the case, we can use negative words, phrases or clauses. Lacking positive or constructive features, especially: a. There are 23 meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun negative, nine of which are labelled obsolete. NEGATIVE definition: expressing or containing negation or denial. Indicating opposition or resistance. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence. negative definition: damaging or undesirable. Unpleasant; disagreeable: had a negative experience on his first job. lacking in constructiveness, helpfulness, optimism, cooperativeness, or the like: a man of negative viewpoint. See examples of negative used in a sentence. A negative reaction to the new advertising campaign. Negation can happen in a number of ways, most commonly, when we use a negative word such as no, not, never, none, nobody, etc: … Indicating opposition or resistance: a negative reaction to the new advertising campaign. [more negative; most negative] : thinking about the bad qualities of someone or something : thinking that a bad result will happen : not hopeful or optimistic Indicating opposition or resistance. The news from overseas is overwhelmingly negative. The meaning of NEGATIVE is marked by denial, prohibition, or refusal; also : marked by absence, withholding, or removal of something positive. Gloomy; pessimistic: a negative outlook. How to use negative in a sentence. Check meanings, examples, usage tips, pronunciation, domains, and related words. Discover expressions like "go negative", "in the negative", "paint a negative picture". . Feb 21, 2026 · Adjective negative (comparative more negative, superlative most negative) Not positive or neutral; bad; undesirable; unfavourable. 2. A fact, situation, or experience that is negative is unpleasant, depressing, or harmful. b. All this had an extremely negative effect on the criminal justice system. qlh spy cne zwh sfw hoh spc pfz iin lbg hsw mfo jsd hxh ast