# negation

/nəˈɡeɪʃən/ (US) · /nɪɡˈeɪʃən/ (UK) · CEFR C1 · Noun

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/negation
Updated: 2026-05-20

## Definition

the act of saying that something is not true or does not exist. You use this when you want to deny a statement.

For teachers: the act of denying the truth or existence of something; the logical operation that produces a statement with the opposite truth value.

## Examples

- The negation of 'the sky is blue' is 'the sky is not blue'.
- In formal logic, the negation of a proposition is often represented by the symbol ¬.
- The philosopher argued that the negation of a universal statement is not merely a simple 'no' but a complex assertion of the existence of a counterexample.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.