negative

Everyday

1. A negative number is less than zero, like -3, written with a minus sign. tree →
2. Negative means saying or meaning "no", like a negative answer. tree →
3. Negative means bad, unhelpful or gloomy: a negative attitude. tree →
4. A negative test result means the thing tested for was not found. tree →
5. In science, negative is one end of a battery or a kind of electric charge (-). tree →
6. A negative is an old film photo where light and dark are swapped. tree →
7. Negative can also mean the reverse or opposite side of something. tree →

In the lessons

In maths: negative numbers on a number line, temperatures below zero, money owed. In science: positive and negative terminals and charges. In everyday life: a negative result on a test is often good news. In grammar: a negative sentence has "not" or "no". Phrases: negative number, in the negative, negative feedback, double negative.

Examples

• -5 is a negative number. tree →
• The temperature was negative 4 degrees overnight. tree →
• Her answer was negative: she said no. tree →
• Try not to be so negative about the test. tree →
• The COVID test came back negative, so he could go to school. tree →
• Connect the wire to the negative end of the battery. tree →
• "I don't know nothing" is a double negative. tree →
• Any number times a negative number changes its sign. tree →
• Below zero on the thermometer, the numbers are negative. tree →
• The Holy Water which destroys the Fiend is merely a Christian form of the "Water of Death," viewed in its negative aspect. tree →

Note

Opposite: positive. Maths rules: negative + negative is more negative; a negative times a negative is positive; -3 is smaller than -1. Trap: a "negative" medical result usually means good news. Trap: "minus" is the operation; "negative" is the kind of number, though people say "minus 5" for -5.

In Jewish tradition

In Sefer Yetzirah, "negative" is one of the three opposing principles, balanced by the "affirmative", with a third that equalizes them.

Interpretation. The commentators read the three as a pattern of balance in creation: merit, guilt and the one that settles between them. They link it with the three mother letters.

Examples

• There are three of which every one of them stands by itself; one is in the affirmative, the other in the negative and one equalizes them. (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) tree →

Note

Opposite: positive. Maths rules: negative + negative is more negative; a negative times a negative is positive; -3 is smaller than -1. Trap: a "negative" medical result usually means good news. Trap: "minus" is the operation; "negative" is the kind of number, though people say "minus 5" for -5.