Minus vs. Negative — What's the Difference?

(Mathematics) Reduced by the subtraction of; less

Expressing, containing, or consisting of a negation, refusal, or denial

(Informal) Without

Indicating opposition or resistance

(Mathematics) Negative or on the negative part of a scale

Unpleasant; disagreeable

Ranking on the lower end of a designated scale

Gloomy; pessimistic

The minus sign (-).

Unfavorable or detrimental

A negative quantity.

Hostile or disparaging; malicious

A deficiency or defect.

(Medicine) Not indicating the presence of a particular disease, condition, or organism.

(mathematics) Made less or reduced by followed by an expression of number or quantity.

(Philosophy) Of or relating to non-being or the absence of qualities rather than being or the possession of qualities

(informal) Without; deprived of.

(Logic) Designating a proposition that denies agreement between a subject and its predicate.

(mathematics) The minus sign (−).

Of or relating to a quantity less than zero.

(mathematics) A negative quantity.

Of or relating to the sign (−).

A downside or disadvantage.

Of or relating to a quantity to be subtracted from another.

Being a negative quantity; pertaining to a deficit or reduction.

Of or relating to a quantity, number, angle, velocity, or direction in a sense opposite to another of the same magnitude indicated or understood to be positive.

That is below zero by (a specified amount) on a scale.

Of or relating to an electric charge of the same sign as that of an electron, indicated by the symbol (−).

Worse off than before; out of pocket.

Of or relating to a body that has more electrons than protons.

(postpositive) Ranking just below (a designated rating).

(Chemistry) Of or relating to an ion, the anion, that is attracted to a positive electrode.

To subtract.

(Biology) Moving or turning away from a stimulus, such as light

Less; requiring to be subtracted; negative; as, a minus quantity.

A statement or act indicating or expressing a contradiction, denial, or refusal.

A factor counted as a disadvantage; a loss or potential loss in a situation or plan; as, he added up all the pluses and minuses and decided not to do it; as, the lack of money is a big minus in an election campaign.

A statement or act that is highly critical of another or of others

An arithmetic operation in which the difference between two numbers is calculated;

Something that lacks all positive, affirmative, or encouraging features; an element that is the counterpoint of the positive

On the negative side or lower end of a scale;

A feature or characteristic that is not deemed positive, affirmative, or desirable

Involving disadvantage or harm;

(Grammar) A word or part of a word, such as no, not, or non-, that indicates negation. See Usage Note at double negative.

The side in a debate that contradicts or opposes the question being debated.

An image in which the light areas of the object rendered appear dark and the dark areas appear light. In a color negative, hues are also reversed so that each color is represented by its complementary color.

A film, plate, or other photographic material containing such an image.

(Mathematics) A negative quantity.

To refuse to approve; veto.

To deny; contradict.

To demonstrate to be false; disprove.

To counteract or neutralize.

Not positive nor neutral.

(physics) Of electrical charge of an electron and related particles

(mathematics) Of a number: less than zero

(weather) Less than zero degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit.

Denying a proposition.

Damaging; undesirable; unfavourable.

Pessimistic; not tending to see the bright side of things.

Of or relating to a photographic image in which the colours of the original, and the relations of left and right, are reversed.

(chemistry) Metalloidal, nonmetallic; contrasted with positive or basic.

Often preceded by emotion, energy, feeling, or thought: to be avoided, bad, difficult, disagreeable, painful, potentially damaging, unpleasant, unwanted.

Characterized by the presence of features which do not support a hypothesis.

(slang) HIV negative.

(slang) COVID-19 negative.

Refusal or withholding of assents; prohibition, veto

An unfavorable point or characteristic.

(law) A right of veto.

(photography) An image in which dark areas represent light ones, and the converse.

(grammar) A word that indicates negation.

(mathematics) A negative quantity.

(weightlifting) A repetition performed with a weight in which the muscle begins at maximum contraction and is slowly extended; a movement performed using only the eccentric phase of muscle movement.

The negative plate of a voltaic or electrolytic cell.

(transitive) To refuse; to veto.

(transitive) To contradict.

(transitive) To disprove.

(transitive) To make ineffective; to neutralize, to negate.

No; nay.

Denying; implying, containing, or asserting denial, negation or refusal; returning the answer no to an inquiry or request; refusing assent; as, a negative answer; a negative opinion; - opposed to affirmative.

Not positive; without affirmative statement or demonstration; indirect; consisting in the absence of something; privative; as, a negative argument; negative evidence; a negative morality; negative criticism.

Asserting absence of connection between a subject and a predicate; as, a negative proposition.

Of or pertaining to a picture upon glass or other material, in which the lights and shades of the original, and the relations of right and left, are reversed.

Metalloidal; nonmetallic; - contrasted with positive or basic; as, the nitro group is negative.

A proposition by which something is denied or forbidden; a conception or term formed by prefixing the negative particle to one which is positive; an opposite or contradictory term or conception.

A word used in denial or refusal; as, not, no.

The refusal or withholding of assents; veto.

That side of a question which denies or refuses, or which is taken by an opposing or denying party; the relation or position of denial or opposition; as, the question was decided in the negative.

A picture upon glass or other material, in which the light portions of the original are represented in some opaque material (usually reduced silver), and the dark portions by the uncovered and transparent or semitransparent ground of the picture.

The negative plate of a voltaic or electrolytic cell.

To prove unreal or untrue; to disprove.

To reject by vote; to refuse to enact or sanction; as, the Senate negatived the bill.

To neutralize the force of; to counteract.

A reply of denial;

A piece of photographic film showing an image with black and white tones reversed

Vote against; refuse to endorse; refuse to assent;

Characterized by or displaying negation or denial or opposition or resistance; having no positive features;

Reckoned in a direction opposite to that regarded as positive

Having a negative electric charge;

Expressing or consisting of a negation or refusal or denial

Having the quality of something harmful or unpleasant;

Not indicating the presence of microorganisms or disease or a specific condition;

Less than zero;

Designed or tending to discredit, especially without positive or helpful suggestions;

Involving disadvantage or harm;