One of the mysteries of the English language finally explained.
Synonyms of negative in English:
negative
See definition of negative
adjective
1‘the petition produced a negative reply from the Home Office’
saying ‘no’, in the negative, rejecting, refusing
dissenting, dissentient, contrary, anti-, opposing, opposed
denying
formal gainsaying
rare dissentious
positive, affirmative
2‘he was criticized for being negative’
pessimistic, defeatist, gloomy, gloom-ridden, cynical, bleak, fatalistic, dismissive, anti, antipathetic, uncooperative, obstructive
unenthusiastic, cool, cold, uninterested, unresponsive, apathetic
positive, optimistic, constructive, enthusiastic
3‘the crisis had an immediate and negative effect on the economy’
harmful, bad, adverse, damaging, detrimental, unfortunate, unfavourable, disadvantageous
favourable, good
noun
1‘he murmured something sufficiently incomprehensible for her to take it as a negative’
no, refusal, rejection, veto
dissension, contradiction
denial
verb
1‘the bill was negatived on the second reading by 130 votes to 129’
reject, turn down, say ‘no’ to, refuse, veto, squash
informal give the thumbs down to, give the red light to
accept, ratify, pass
2‘the insurer's main arguments were negatived by Lawrence’
disprove, prove to be false, show to be false, give the lie to, belie, invalidate, call into question, refute, rebut, discredit, explode
contradict, deny, negate
formal gainsay
prove, substantiate
3‘would-be vendors inevitably raise selling prices to negative the effect of the tax’
cancel out, neutralize, counteract, nullify, negate, render ineffective
offset, balance, counterbalance, balance out, equalize