negative influence

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A person, thing, or situation that makes someone or something worse or causes harm.

   Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a negative influence' or 'negative influences'.

   Patterns

   • a negative influence on someone
   • have a negative influence on something
   • be a negative influence

   Some people think that violent video games are a negative influence on children.

   His friends were a negative influence, and he started skipping classes.

   The media can have a negative influence on how we see our bodies.

2. 2noununcountable

   The effect of making something worse or less successful.

   Grammar: Uncountable when talking about the effect itself: 'the negative influence of social media'.

   Patterns

   • the negative influence of something
   • under the negative influence of something

   The negative influence of pollution on wildlife is well documented.

   She spoke about the negative influence of advertising on young people.

Word forms

Common combinations

have a negative influence on

Lack of sleep can have a negative influence on your grades.

be a negative influence

He was a negative influence on the team.

a negative influence on children

Many parents worry about negative influences on their children.

the negative influence of something

The book discusses the negative influence of social media.

Synonyms and how they differ

bad influence

More informal and direct; 'negative influence' sounds slightly more formal or neutral.

harmful effect

Focuses on the result rather than the person or thing causing it.

Opposites

Commonly confused: negative influence or bad effect?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “negative influence”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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