Spanish vocabulary · Beginner
Negative in Spanish: Negativo
Negativo · adjective / noun · neh-gah-TEE-boh
Negativo is the Spanish word for negative, functioning as both an adjective and a noun. It works for test results (resultado negativo), attitudes (actitud negativa), numbers (número negativo), and photography (un negativo). The feminine form negativa doubles as a noun meaning refusal or denial.
Say neh-gah-TEE-boh, four syllables with the stress on TEE. The word is a near-perfect cognate of English negative.
La prueba dio negativo para COVID.
The test came back negative for COVID.
Negative in Spanish: Quick Reference
Below are the most common Spanish words for negative, with pronunciation and regional usage notes.
| Spanish | English | Pronunciation | Region / Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| negativo | negative | neh-gah-TEE-boh | Default, widely understood |
| negativa | negative | feminine form — or a refusal / denial as a noun |
How Native Speakers Use Negativo
Real example sentences across three contexts you'll actually run into.
Medical test result
El resultado del análisis de sangre fue negativo.
The blood test result was negative.
Dar negativo or ser negativo are the standard ways to express a negative test result.
Negative attitude
No seas tan negativo, todavía tenemos opciones.
Don't be so negative, we still have options.
Negativo as a personality descriptor works exactly like the English negative.
Refusal as a noun
La empresa nos dio una negativa a nuestra solicitud de aumento.
The company gave us a refusal to our raise request.
Negativa as a noun means a formal refusal or denial, often in bureaucratic or legal contexts.
Avoid These Mistakes When Using Negativo
Forgetting gender agreement
Incorrect: Una experiencia negativo.
Correct: Una experiencia negativa.
Negativo must agree with the noun it modifies. Experiencia is feminine, so the adjective becomes negativa. The -o/-a ending follows standard adjective agreement rules.
Using negativo as an adverb
Incorrect: Él habla muy negativo de su trabajo.
Correct: Él habla muy negativamente de su trabajo.
To modify a verb, Spanish requires the adverb form negativamente. Using the adjective negativo to modify a verb is grammatically incorrect.
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Common Questions About Negative in Spanish
- How do you say negative in Spanish?
- Negative in Spanish is negativo (masculine) or negativa (feminine). It is a direct cognate that works in medical, emotional, mathematical, and photographic contexts, just like in English.
- How do you say negative test result in Spanish?
- A negative test result is resultado negativo or prueba negativa. The phrase dar negativo (to come back negative) is the most common way to state that a test was negative: la prueba dio negativo.
- What does negativa mean as a noun?
- As a noun, negativa means a refusal, denial, or rejection. Recibir una negativa means to receive a refusal. It is used in formal, legal, and bureaucratic contexts when someone officially turns down a request.