Meaning & use
negating
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“negating” is a form of “negate”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive
Present participle of 'negate': making something ineffective, or showing that a statement is untrue.
Grammar: Needs an object: you negate a claim, an effect, or an advantage.
Patterns
- negate something
- negate the effect of something
- negate a claim
The sudden rise in fuel costs is negating the savings we made elsewhere.
By answering so quickly, she was negating her own argument.
Poor maintenance is negating the benefits of the new equipment.
adjectivebefore a nountechnical
(Of a word or phrase) expressing denial or the opposite, such as 'not', 'never', or 'no'.
Grammar: Comes before the noun it describes: a negating word, a negating prefix.
Patterns
- a negating word
- a negating prefix
- a negating adverb
In 'I saw nobody', 'nobody' acts as a negating word.
Learners often forget that a negating adverb like 'hardly' changes the whole sentence.
The teacher circled every negating expression in the paragraph.
Word forms
| third person singular | negates |
|---|---|
| past tense | negated |
| past participle | negated |
| -ing form | negating |
Common combinations
- negate the effect of something
- Heavy rain negated the effect of the fertilizer.
- negate an advantage
- Their extra speed negated our advantage in defense.
- completely negate
- One careless remark can completely negate months of hard work.
- negating word
- Write the sentence again without any negating word.
- effectively negate
- The new tax effectively negates the pay rise.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cancel out
- More informal and usually used of two things that balance each other, as in 'The two errors cancel out'.
- undo
- Suggests reversing something that was already done, rather than simply making it useless.
- nullify
- More formal and legal-sounding; often used about contracts, votes, or official decisions.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: negating or denying? negating or ignoring?
negating vs denying
'Denying' means saying something is not true or refusing to give something; 'negating' means making something powerless or worthless.
negating vs ignoring
'Ignoring' means paying no attention to something; 'negating' means actively cancelling its effect.
Practice
Choose the sentence that uses 'negating' correctly.
Choose one answer.
'Negate' is a transitive verb, so it takes a direct object such as 'the benefits'. Option 2 wrongly uses 'to' after the -ing form, option 3 misses the auxiliary 'was', and option 4 adds 'of', which this verb never takes.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “negating”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.