Negative - English meaning

preposition

Opposed to; against.

Usage examples:

I'm anti the abuse of drink and the hassle that it causes

adjective

Opposed.

Usage examples:

The local councils are anti

noun

A person opposed to a particular policy, activity, or idea.

Usage examples:

The threat to field sports from the antis is a serious one

adjective

Showing or feeling a strong aversion.

Usage examples:

It is human nature to be antipathetic to change

adjective

Showing or feeling a strong dislike, opposition, or anger

Usage examples:

Antipathetic attitudes towards smokers, even those normally antipathetic to anything new approve of…

adjective

Showing or feeling no interest, enthusiasm, or concern.

Usage examples:

An apathetic electorate

adjective

Showing no interest or energy and unwilling to take action, especially over something important

Usage examples:

Young people today are so apathetic about politics., don't be so apathetic - how are you going to g…

noun

An even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady.

Usage examples:

She lost her balance and fell

verb

Put (something) in a steady position so that it does not fall.

Usage examples:

A mug that she balanced on her knee

noun

Harmonious arrangement or relation of parts within a whole

adjective

(of an area of land) lacking vegetation and exposed to the elements.

Usage examples:

A bleak and barren moor

noun

A small silvery shoaling fish of the carp family, found in eurasian rivers.

Usage examples:

The flies for pike were naturally bigger than the bleaks, so they left me alone and i got some pike.

adjective

If a place is bleak, it is empty, and not welcoming or attractive

Usage examples:

The house stands on a bleak, windswept hilltop.

adjective

Of or at a low or relatively low temperature, especially when compared with the human body.

Usage examples:

A freezing cold day

noun

A low temperature; cold weather; a cold environment.

Usage examples:

My teeth chattered with the cold

adverb

Completely; entirely.

Usage examples:

We stopped cold behind a turn in the staircase

noun

A combination of statements, ideas, or features which are opposed to one another.

Usage examples:

The proposed new system suffers from a set of internal contradictions

noun

The fact of something being the complete opposite of something else or very different from something else, so that one of them must be wrong

Usage examples:

You say that you're good friends and yet you don't trust him. isn't that a contradiction?

noun

A combination of words that is nonsense because some of the words suggest the opposite of some of the others

Usage examples:

Many people think that an honest politician is a contradiction in terms.

adjective

Of or at a fairly low temperature.

Usage examples:

It'll be a cool afternoon

noun

A fairly low temperature.

Usage examples:

The cool of the night air

verb

Become or make less hot.

Usage examples:

We dived into the river to cool off

verb

Act against (something) in order to reduce its force or neutralize it.

Usage examples:

Should we deliberately intervene in the climate system to counteract global warming?

verb

To reduce or remove the effect of something by producing an opposite effect

Usage examples:

The tax must be adjusted upward to counteract inflation.

verb

To take action to reduce the influence of something that may be harmful

Usage examples:

Spending on marketing and advertising has increased in order to counteract falling sales., these ne…

noun

A weight that balances another weight.

Usage examples:

The trolley used a counterbalance and leverage action to reduce the effort of lifting loads

verb

(of a weight) balance (another weight).

Usage examples:

The sitter's weight counterbalances the tilting pressure on the backrest

verb

To have an equal but opposite effect on something in a positive way, so that it does not have too much of a particular characteristic

Usage examples:

Investment in forestry projects is intended to counterbalance the effects of carbon emissions., sho…

adjective

Believing that people are motivated purely by self-interest; distrustful of human sincerity or integrity.

Usage examples:

He was brutally cynical and hardened to every sob story under the sun

Believing the worst of human nature and motives

adjective

Not trusting or respecting the goodness of other people and their actions, but believing that people are interested only in themselves

Usage examples:

Listening to politicians for too long can make you cynical., she’s become cynical about men., he’s …

noun

A person who expects or is excessively ready to accept failure.

Usage examples:

It also appeals to defeatists, cynics, and worldly-wise men who are not prepared to try to change t…

adjective

Demonstrating expectation or acceptance of failure.

Usage examples:

We have a duty not to be so defeatist

adjective

Having no hope and expecting to fail

Usage examples:

Being defeatist will get us nowhere., he's got such a defeatist attitude., i can't believe it - you…

noun

The action of denying something.

Usage examples:

She shook her head in denial

noun

A statement that something is not true

Usage examples:

His statement is not a denial., planning staff recommended denial of the project., he claims he’s n…

noun

A statement that something is not true or does not exist

Usage examples:

Issue a denial the ceo issued a denial of the report that she is about to resign., [ + that ] offic…

adjective

Feeling or showing that something is unworthy of consideration.

Usage examples:

Monetarist theory is dismissive of the need to control local spending

adjective

Showing that you think something or someone is not important and not worth considering

Usage examples:

A dismissive, angry look

adjective

Showing that you do not think something is worth considering

Usage examples:

Dismissive of he's so dismissive of anybody else's suggestions., a dismissive attitude

noun

Disagreement that leads to discord.

Usage examples:

These issues caused bitter dissension in the party

noun

Strong disagreement, esp. within an organization

Usage examples:

There was a good deal of dissension within women’s rights organizations about setting political goa…

noun

Arguments and disagreement, especially in an organization, group, political party, etc.

Usage examples:

Dissension within there are signs of dissension within the ruling political party.

verb

Make the same in quantity, size, or degree throughout a place or group.

Usage examples:

The purpose is to equalize the workload among tutors

verb

To make laws or treatment the same for all people or companies in a group or place

Usage examples:

The latest proposals would implement appropriate measures to equalize the conditions of global trad…

verb

To make things or people equal

Usage examples:

They are putting pressure on the government to equalize state pension ages between men and women.

adjective

Relating to or characteristic of the belief that all events are predetermined and therefore inevitable.

Usage examples:

Many have an almost fatalistic attitude towards their own health

adjective

Believing that people cannot change the way events will happen and that events, especially bad ones, cannot be avoided

Usage examples:

She was fatalistic about the future., he had a fatalistic acceptance of his bad luck in life.

adjective

Dark or poorly lit, especially so as to appear depressing or frightening.

Usage examples:

A gloomy corridor badly lit by oil lamps

adjective

Causing or likely to cause harm.

Usage examples:

The ozone layer blocks the harmful rays from the sun

adjective

Causing harm

Usage examples:

Harmful to this group of chemicals is known to be harmful to people with asthma.

verb

Make ineffective; nullify.

Usage examples:

Alcohol negates the effects of the drug

verb

To show something to be wrong or to be the opposite of what was thought, or to cause something to have no effect

Usage examples:

The increase in sales was negated by the rising cost of materials.

verb

Make (something) ineffective by applying an opposite force or effect.

Usage examples:

Impatience at his frailty began to neutralize her fear

verb

To produce an effect that removes the effect of something else

Usage examples:

Raising the sales tax will neutralize the tax cut., acid in soil can be neutralized.

determiner

Not any.

Usage examples:

There is no excuse

exclamation

Used to give a negative response.

Usage examples:

‘is anything wrong?’ ‘no.’

adverb

Not at all; to no extent.

Usage examples:

They were no more able to perform the task than i was

verb

Make legally null and void; invalidate.

Usage examples:

It is at the discretion of the court to nullify the decision

verb

To cause an agreement or result to be no longer effective or consider it as not existing

Usage examples:

The referee nullified the goal.

verb

To make a legal agreement or decision no longer have any legal force

Usage examples:

The airline wants to nullify employees' contracts if no settlement is reached., a suit has been fil…

adjective

Causing a blockage or obstruction.

Usage examples:

All tubing should be cleared of obstructive algae and detritus

noun

A consideration or amount that diminishes or balances the effect of an opposite one.

Usage examples:

Widow's bereavement allowance is an offset against income

verb

Counteract (something) by having an equal and opposite force or effect.

Usage examples:

Donations to charities can be offset against tax

verb

To balance one influence against an opposing influence so that no great difference results

Usage examples:

The extra cost of commuting to work from the suburbs is offset by cheaper rents.

adjective

Tending to see the worst aspect of things or believe that the worst will happen.

Usage examples:

He was pessimistic about the prospects

adjective

Thinking that bad things are more likely to happen or emphasizing the bad part of a situation

Usage examples:

The tone of the meeting was very pessimistic., the doctors are pessimistic (= not hopeful) about hi…

noun

An act of refusing to do something.

Usage examples:

He became tired of his friend's refusal to see him

noun

The act of saying that you will not do or accept something

Usage examples:

Her request for more money met with a refusal., refusal to do sth they were frustrated by his refus…

verb

Indicate or show that one is not willing to do something.

Usage examples:

I refused to answer

noun

Matter thrown away or rejected as worthless; rubbish.

Usage examples:

Heaps of refuse

verb

Dismiss as inadequate, unacceptable, or faulty.

Usage examples:

Union negotiators rejected a 1.5 per cent pay award

noun

A person or thing dismissed as inadequate or unacceptable.

Usage examples:

Some of the team's rejects have gone on to prove themselves in championships

verb

To refuse to accept, use, or believe something or someone

Usage examples:

The school rejects a third of all applicants., as a child, she had felt rejected by her mother., in…

noun

The dismissing or refusing of a proposal, idea, etc.

Usage examples:

The union decided last night to recommend rejection of the offer

noun

The act or process of rejecting someone or something

Usage examples:

[ u ] fear of rejection, [ c ] i applied for ten jobs and got ten rejections.

noun

The act of refusing to accept an idea, suggestion, proposal, etc.

Usage examples:

The company's rejection of the proposal came as a total surprise., i've applied for loads of jobs a…

verb

Crush or squeeze (something) with force so that it becomes flat, soft, or out of shape.

Usage examples:

Wash and squash the cans before depositing them

noun

A state of being squeezed or forced into a small or restricted space.

Usage examples:

It was a bit of a squash but he didn't seem to mind

noun

An edible gourd, the flesh of which may be cooked and eaten as a vegetable.

Usage examples:

There's much more beta carotene in traditional crops, from leafy green vegetables to squashes, melo…

adjective

Unwilling to help others or do what they ask.

Usage examples:

I can recall him soothing uncooperative clients on the telephone

adjective

Not having or showing enthusiasm.

Usage examples:

An unenthusiastic response

adjective

Showing little or no enthusiasm

Usage examples:

Josh seemed unenthusiastic about the plan., he was a talented but unenthusiastic student., her unen…

adjective

Not interested in or concerned about something or someone.

Usage examples:

I was totally uninterested in boys

adjective

Not excited or not wanting to become involved

Usage examples:

He’s completely uninterested in sports.

adjective

Not responsive.

Usage examples:

These symptoms may be unresponsive to conventional treatment

adjective

Not reacting or answering, or not reacting or answering satisfactorily

Usage examples:

The company has been unresponsive to her efforts to discuss a settlement.

noun

A constitutional right to reject a decision or proposal made by a lawmaking body.

Usage examples:

Neither state was given a veto over amendments to the act

verb

Exercise a veto against (a decision or proposal).

Usage examples:

The president vetoed the bill

noun

The power to refuse to allow something to be done, or such a refusal

Usage examples:

[ c ] the president has promised a veto if congress passes that bill., [ u ] the mayor will have no…