negation

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

ne·ga·tion

(nĭ-gā′shən)

1. The act or process of negating.

2. A denial, contradiction, or negative statement.

3. The opposite or absence of something regarded as actual, positive, or affirmative.

ne·ga′tion·al adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

negation

(nɪˈɡeɪʃən)

1. the opposite or absence of something

2. a negative thing or condition

3. the act or an instance of negating

4. (Logic) logic

a. the operator that forms one sentence from another and corresponds to the English not

b. a sentence so formed. It is usually written –p, ~p, p̄ or ⇁p, where p is the given sentence, and is false when the given sentence is true, and true when it is false

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ne•ga•tion

(nɪˈgeɪ ʃən)

n.

1. the act of denying: He shook his head in negation of the charge.

2. a denial: a negation of one's beliefs.

3. something that is without existence; nonentity.

4. the absence or opposite of something considered positive or affirmative: Darkness is the negation of light.

5. a negative statement, idea, concept, doctrine, etc.; a contradiction, refutation, or rebuttal.

ne•ga′tion•al, adj.

negation

Measures to deceive, disrupt, deny, degrade, or destroy an adversary's space systems and services or any other space system or service used by an adversary that is hostile to US national interests. See also space control.

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	negation - a negative statement; a statement that is a refusal or denial of some other statement statement - a message that is stated or declared; a communication (oral or written) setting forth particulars or facts etc; "according to his statement he was in London on that day"
	2.	negation - the speech act of negating disaffirmation, denial - the act of asserting that something alleged is not true contradiction - the speech act of contradicting someone; "he spoke as if he thought his claims were immune to contradiction" cancellation - the speech act of revoking or annulling or making void
	3.	negation - (logic) a proposition that is true if and only if another proposition is false logic - the branch of philosophy that analyzes inference proposition - (logic) a statement that affirms or denies something and is either true or false

negation

noun

1. opposite, reverse, contrary, contradiction, converse, antithesis, inverse, antonym He repudiates liberty and equality as the negation of order and government.

2. denial, refusal, rejection, contradiction, renunciation, repudiation, disavowal, veto She shook her head in a gesture of negation.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

negation

noun

1. An often formal act of putting an end to:

abolishment, abolition, abrogation, annihilation, annulment, cancellation, defeasance, invalidation, nullification, voidance.

Law: avoidance, extinguishment.

2. A refusal to grant the truth of a statement or charge:

contradiction, denial, disaffirmance, disaffirmation, disclaimer, rejection.

Law: traversal.

Translations

negace

tagadás

negasjon

negation

[nɪˈgeɪʃən] N

1. (gen) (Ling) → negación f

2. (= denial, refusal) → negativa f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

negation

[nɪˈgeɪʃ^ən] n → négation f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

negation

n → Verneinung f; (of statement, negative form also) → Negation f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

negation

[nɪˈgeɪʃ/ən] n → negazione f

ne·ga·tion

n. negación.

References in classic literature ?

In former days," said Golenishtchev, not observing, or not willing to observe, that both Anna and Vronsky wanted to speak, "in former days the free-thinker was a man who had been brought up in ideas of religion, law, and morality, and only through conflict and struggle came to free-thought; but now there has sprung up a new type of born free-thinkers who grow up without even having heard of principles of morality or of religion, of the existence of authorities, who grow up directly in ideas of negation in everything, that is to say, savages.

View in context

The restriction in question amounts to what lawyers call a NEGATIVE PREGNANT that is, a NEGATION of one thing, and an AFFIRMANCE of another; a negation of the authority of the States to impose taxes on imports and exports, and an affirmance of their authority to impose them on all other articles.

View in context

(iv) Statements opposed as affirmation and negation belong manifestly to a class which is distinct, for in this case, and in this case only, it is necessary for the one opposite to be true and the other false.

View in context

Napoleon silently shook his head in negation. Assuming the negation to refer only to the victory and not to the lunch, M.

View in context

In the "Palace of Crystal" it is unthinkable; suffering means doubt, negation, and what would be the good of a "palace of crystal" if there could be any doubt about it?

View in context

But if there be anything which is of such a nature as to be and not to be, that will have a place intermediate between pure being and the absolute negation of being?

View in context

Only look, dearest woman, LOOK--!" She looked, even as I did, and gave me, with her deep groan of negation, repulsion, compassion-- the mixture with her pity of her relief at her exemption--a sense, touching to me even then, that she would have backed me up if she could.

View in context

As for other acquaintances, there is a chill air surrounding those who are down in the world, and people are glad to get away from them, as from a cold room; human beings, mere men and women, without furniture, without anything to offer you, who have ceased to count as anybody, present an embarrassing negation of reasons for wishing to see them, or of subjects on which to converse with them.

View in context

Accordingly, whereas we not infrequently have ideas or notions in which some falsity is contained, this can only be the case with such as are to some extent confused and obscure, and in this proceed from nothing (participate of negation), that is, exist in us thus confused because we are not wholly perfect.

View in context

It seemed like a new misanthropic belief which had fallen on human beings, carrying with it the negation of all hope.

View in context

The soundlessness impressed her as a positive entity rather than as the mere negation of noise.

View in context

Atheism only preaches a negation, but Romanism goes further; it preaches a disfigured, distorted Christ--it preaches Anti-Christ--I assure you, I swear it!