Positive vs. Negative — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman & Maham Liaqat — Updated on May 7, 2024
"Positive" conveys favorable qualities or an optimistic outlook, whereas "Negative" denotes unfavorable attributes or a pessimistic perspective. Both terms can describe attitudes, outcomes, or numerical values.
Difference Between Positive and Negative
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
"Positive" often relates to optimism and affirmation. People with positive attitudes tend to see the good in situations, whereas "Negative" is linked to pessimism and denial, where the focus is more on challenges and difficulties.
In medicine, "Positive" results indicate the presence of a condition or substance. On the other hand, "Negative" means the absence of that condition or substance, implying a clean bill of health.
In mathematics, "Positive" numbers are greater than zero, representing values like gains or credits, whereas "Negative" numbers are less than zero, often representing losses or debits.
In photography, a "Positive" image accurately displays colors and light, such as in a printed photograph. Conversely, "Negative" images reverse colors and light, providing a template for creating positive prints.
"Positive" feedback involves encouragement and constructive reinforcement, while "Negative" feedback focuses on pointing out mistakes and areas for improvement.
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Comparison Chart
Attitude
Optimistic or favorable
Pessimistic or unfavorable
Medical Testing
Presence of a condition
Absence of a condition
Mathematics
Numbers greater than zero
Numbers less than zero
Photography
Accurate color representation
Reversed color representation
Feedback
Encouraging or affirming
Critical or discouraging
Compare with Definitions
Positive
Indicative of good or constructive qualities.
She has a positive outlook on life.
Negative
Indicative of bad or adverse qualities.
She has a negative opinion of that movie.
Positive
Offering constructive reinforcement or support.
Positive feedback helps employees feel motivated.
Negative
Indicative of the absence of a particular condition.
The patient tested negative for any infectious diseases.
Positive
Exhibiting certainty or confidence.
He gave a positive response to the job offer.
Negative
Involving numerical values less than zero.
The business suffered a negative profit margin this year.
Positive
Involving numerical values greater than zero.
The company recorded a positive cash flow this quarter.
Negative
Pointing out faults or criticisms.
Negative feedback highlighted the project's shortcomings.
Positive
Indicative of the presence of a particular condition.
The patient tested positive for the virus.
Negative
Expressing doubt or pessimism.
He gave a negative reply to the proposal.
Positive
Characterized by or displaying certainty, acceptance, or affirmation
A positive answer.
Positive criticism.
Negative
Expressing, containing, or consisting of a negation, refusal, or denial
Gave a negative answer to our request.
Positive
Measured or moving forward or in a direction of increase or progress
Positive steps.
Negative
Indicating opposition or resistance
A negative reaction to the new advertising campaign.
Positive
Desirable, admirable, or beneficial
A woman with many positive qualities.
The positive features of this new software.
Negative
Unpleasant; disagreeable
Had a negative experience on his first job.
Positive
Optimistic or constructive
A positive attitude.
Negative
Gloomy; pessimistic
A negative outlook.
Positive
Not disparaging or malicious
Ran a positive political campaign.
Negative
Unfavorable or detrimental
A negative review.
A negative effect on the child's development.
Positive
Very confident; certain
I'm positive he's right.
Negative
Hostile or disparaging; malicious
Ran a negative campaign against her opponent.
Positive
Explicitly or openly expressed or laid down
A positive demand.
Negative
(Medicine) Not indicating the presence of a particular disease, condition, or organism.
Positive
Admitting of no doubt; irrefutable
Positive proof.
Negative
(Philosophy) Of or relating to non-being or the absence of qualities rather than being or the possession of qualities
The purely negative virtue of unselfishness.
Positive
Concerned with practical rather than theoretical matters.
Negative
(Logic) Designating a proposition that denies agreement between a subject and its predicate.
Positive
Of or relating to being or the possession of qualities rather than non-being or the absence of qualities
The question of the positive existence of evil.
Negative
Of or relating to a quantity less than zero.
Positive
Of or relating to positivism.
Negative
Of or relating to the sign (−).
Positive
Of or relating to positive law.
Negative
Of or relating to a quantity to be subtracted from another.
Positive
Of or relating to religion based on revelation rather than on nature or reason alone.
Negative
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.
Positive
(Informal) Utter; absolute
A positive darling.
Negative
Of or relating to an electric charge of the same sign as that of an electron, indicated by the symbol (−).
Positive
Relating to or designating a quantity greater than zero.
Negative
Of or relating to a body that has more electrons than protons.
Positive
Relating to or designating the sign (+).
Negative
(Chemistry) Of or relating to an ion, the anion, that is attracted to a positive electrode.
Positive
Relating to or designating a quantity, number, angle, or direction opposite to another designated as negative.
Negative
(Biology) Moving or turning away from a stimulus, such as light
A negative tropism.
Positive
Relating to or designating an electric charge of a sign opposite to that of an electron.
Negative
A statement or act indicating or expressing a contradiction, denial, or refusal.
Positive
Of or relating to a body having fewer electrons than protons.
Negative
A statement or act that is highly critical of another or of others
Campaign advertising that was based solely on negatives.
Positive
(Chemistry) Of or relating to an ion, the cation, that is attracted to a negative electrode.
Negative
Something that lacks all positive, affirmative, or encouraging features; an element that is the counterpoint of the positive
“Life is full of overwhelming odds. You can't really eliminate the negatives but you can diminish them” (Art Linkletter).
Positive
(Medicine) Indicating the presence of a particular disease, condition, or organism
A positive test for pregnancy.
Negative
A feature or characteristic that is not deemed positive, affirmative, or desirable
“As voters get to know his liberal views, his negatives will rise” (Richard M. Nixon).
Positive
(Biology) Indicating or characterized by response or motion toward the source of a stimulus, such as light
Positive tropism.
Negative
(Grammar) A word or part of a word, such as no, not, or non-, that indicates negation. See Usage Note at double negative.
Positive
Having the areas of light and dark in their original and normal relationship, as in a photographic print made from a negative.
Negative
The side in a debate that contradicts or opposes the question being debated.
Positive
(Grammar) Of, relating to, or being the simple uncompared degree of an adjective or adverb, as opposed to either the comparative or superlative.
Negative
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.
Positive
Driven by or generating power directly through intermediate machine parts having little or no play
Positive drive.
Negative
A film, plate, or other photographic material containing such an image.
Positive
An affirmative element or characteristic.
Negative
(Mathematics) A negative quantity.
Positive
(Mathematics) A quantity greater than zero.
Negative
To refuse to approve; veto.
Positive
(Physics) A positive electric charge.
Negative
To deny; contradict.
Positive
A photographic image in which the lights and darks appear as they do in nature.
Negative
To demonstrate to be false; disprove.
Positive
The uncompared degree of an adjective or adverb.
Negative
To counteract or neutralize.
Positive
A word in this degree.
Negative
Not positive nor neutral.
Positive
(Music) A division of some pipe organs, similar in sound to the great but smaller and less powerful.
Negative
(physics) Of electrical charge of an electron and related particles
Positive
Not negative or neutral.
Negative
(mathematics) Of a number: less than zero
Positive
(law) Formally laid down.
Negative
(weather) Less than zero degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit.
Positive
Stated definitively and without qualification.
Negative
Denying a proposition.
Positive
Fully assured in opinion.
I’m absolutely positive you've spelt that wrong.
Negative
Damaging; undesirable; unfavourable.
The high exchange rate will have a negative effect on our profits.
Customers didn’t like it: feedback was mostly negative.
Positive
(mathematics) Of number, greater than zero.
Negative
Pessimistic; not tending to see the bright side of things.
I don’t like to hang around him very much because he can be so negative about his petty problems.
Positive
Characterized by constructiveness or influence for the better.
Negative
Of or relating to a photographic image in which the colours of the original, and the relations of left and right, are reversed.
Positive
Overconfident, dogmatic.
Negative
(chemistry) Metalloidal, nonmetallic; contrasted with positive or basic.
The nitro group is negative.
Positive
Actual, real, concrete, not theoretical or speculative.
Negative
Often preceded by emotion, energy, feeling, or thought: to be avoided, bad, difficult, disagreeable, painful, potentially damaging, unpleasant, unwanted.
Positive
(physics) Having more protons than electrons.
A cation is a positive ion as it has more protons than electrons.
Negative
Characterized by the presence of features which do not support a hypothesis.
Positive
(grammar) Describing the primary sense of an adjective, adverb or noun; not comparative, superlative, augmentative nor diminutive.
‘Better’ is an irregular comparative of the positive form ‘good’.
Negative
(slang) HIV negative.
Positive
(grammar) Describing a verb that is not negated, especially in languages which have distinct positive and negative verb forms, e.g., Finnish.
Negative
(slang) COVID-19 negative.
Positive
Derived from an object by itself; not dependent on changing circumstances or relations.
The idea of beauty is not positive, but depends on the different tastes of individuals.
Positive knowledge
Negative
Refusal or withholding of assents; prohibition, veto
Positive
Characterized by the existence or presence of distinguishing qualities or features, rather than by their absence.
The box was not empty – I felt some positive substance within it.
Negative
An unfavorable point or characteristic.
Positive
Characterized by the presence of features which support a hypothesis.
The results of our experiment are positive.
Negative
(law) A right of veto.
Positive
(photography) Of a visual image, true to the original in light, shade and colour values.
A positive photograph can be developed from a photographic negative.
Negative
(photography) An image in which dark areas represent light ones, and the converse.
Positive
Favorable, desirable by those interested or invested in that which is being judged.
The first-night reviews were largely positive.
Negative
(grammar) A word that indicates negation.
Positive
Wholly what is expressed; colloquially downright, entire, outright.
Good lord, you've built up a positive arsenal of weaponry here.
Negative
(mathematics) A negative quantity.
Positive
Optimistic.
He has a positive outlook on life.
Negative
(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.
Positive
(chemistry) electropositive
Negative
The negative plate of a voltaic or electrolytic cell.
Positive
(chemistry) basic; metallic; not acid; opposed to negative, and said of metals, bases, and basic radicals.
Negative
(transitive) To refuse; to veto.
Positive
(slang) HIV positive.
Negative
(transitive) To contradict.
Positive
(New Age jargon) Good, desirable, healthful, pleasant, enjoyable; (often precedes 'energy', 'thought', 'feeling' or 'emotion').
Negative
(transitive) To disprove.
Positive
A thing capable of being affirmed; something real or actual.
Negative
(transitive) To make ineffective; to neutralize, to negate.
Positive
A favourable point or characteristic.
Negative
No; nay.
Positive
Something having a positive value in physics, such as an electric charge.
Negative
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.
If thou wilt confess,Or else be impudently negative.
Denying me any power of a negative voice.
Something between an affirmative bow and a negative shake.
Positive
(grammar) A degree of comparison of adjectives and adverbs.
Negative
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.
There in another way of denying Christ, . . . which is negative, when we do not acknowledge and confess him.
Positive
(grammar) An adjective or adverb in the positive degree.
Negative
Asserting absence of connection between a subject and a predicate; as, a negative proposition.
Positive
(photography) A positive image; one that displays true colors and shades, as opposed to a negative.
Negative
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.
Positive
The positive plate of a voltaic or electrolytic cell.
Negative
Metalloidal; nonmetallic; - contrasted with positive or basic; as, the nitro group is negative.
Positive
A positive result of a test.
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.
This is a known rule in divinity, that there is no command that runs in negatives but couches under it a positive duty.
Positive
Having a real position, existence, or energy; existing in fact; real; actual; - opposed to negative.
Negative
A word used in denial or refusal; as, not, no.
No wine ne drank she, neither white nor red.
These eyes that never did nor never shallSo much as frown on you.
Positive
Derived from an object by itself; not dependent on changing circumstances or relations; absolute; - opposed to relative; as, the idea of beauty is not positive, but depends on the different tastes individuals.
Negative
The refusal or withholding of assents; veto.
If a kind without his kingdom be, in a civil sense, nothing, then . . . his negative is as good as nothing.
Positive
Definitely laid down; explicitly stated; clearly expressed; - opposed to implied; as, a positive declaration or promise.
Positive words, that he would not bear arms against King Edward's son.
Negative
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.
Positive
Hence: Not admitting of any doubt, condition, qualification, or discretion; not dependent on circumstances or probabilities; not speculative; compelling assent or obedience; peremptory; indisputable; decisive; as, positive instructions; positive truth; positive proof.
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.
Positive
Prescribed by express enactment or institution; settled by arbitrary appointment; said of laws.
In laws, that which is natural bindeth universally; that which is positive, not so.
Negative
The negative plate of a voltaic or electrolytic cell.
Positive
Fully assured; confident; certain; sometimes, overconfident; dogmatic; overbearing; - said of persons.
Some positive, persisting fops we know,That, if once wrong, will needs be always.
Negative
To prove unreal or untrue; to disprove.
The omission or infrequency of such recitals does not negative the existence of miracles.
Positive
Having the power of direct action or influence; as, a positive voice in legislation.
Negative
To reject by vote; to refuse to enact or sanction; as, the Senate negatived the bill.
Positive
Corresponding with the original in respect to the position of lights and shades, instead of having the lights and shades reversed; as, a positive picture.
Negative
To neutralize the force of; to counteract.
Positive
Electro-positive.
Negative
A reply of denial;
He answered in the negative
Positive
Designating, or pertaining to, a motion or device in which the movement derived from a driver, or the grip or hold of a restraining piece, is communicated through an unyielding intermediate piece or pieces; as, a claw clutch is a positive clutch, while a friction clutch is not.
Negative
A piece of photographic film showing an image with black and white tones reversed
Positive
Designating a method of steering or turning in which the steering wheels move so that they describe concentric arcs in making a turn, to insure freedom from side slip or harmful resistance.
Negative
Vote against; refuse to endorse; refuse to assent;
The President vetoed the bill
Positive
That which is capable of being affirmed; reality.
Negative
Characterized by or displaying negation or denial or opposition or resistance; having no positive features;
A negative outlook on life
A colorless negative personality
A negative evaluation
A negative reaction to an advertising campaign
A positive attitude
The reviews were all positive
A positive benefit
A positive demand
Positive
That which settles by absolute appointment.
Negative
Reckoned in a direction opposite to that regarded as positive
Positive
The positive degree or form.
Negative
Having a negative electric charge;
Electrons are negative
Protons are positive
Positive
A picture in which the lights and shades correspond in position with those of the original, instead of being reversed, as in a negative.
Negative
Expressing or consisting of a negation or refusal or denial
Positive
The positive plate of a voltaic or electrolytic cell.
Negative
Having the quality of something harmful or unpleasant;
Ran a negative campaign
Delinquents retarded by their negative outlook on life
Positive
A film showing a photographic image whose tones correspond to those of the original subject
Negative
Not indicating the presence of microorganisms or disease or a specific condition;
The HIV test was negative
Positive
Characterized by or displaying affirmation or acceptance or certainty etc.;
A positive attitude
The reviews were all positive
A positive benefit
A positive demand
Negative
Less than zero;
A negative number
Positive
Having a positive electric charge;
Protons are positive
Negative
Designed or tending to discredit, especially without positive or helpful suggestions;
Negative criticism
Positive
Involving advantage or good;
A plus (or positive) factor
Negative
Involving disadvantage or harm;
Minus (or negative) factors
Positive
Indicating existence or presence of a suspected condition or pathogen;
A positive pregnancy test
Positive
Formally laid down or imposed;
Positive laws
Positive
Impossible to deny or disprove;
Incontrovertible proof of the defendant's innocence
Proof positive
An irrefutable argument
Positive
Of or relating to positivism;
Positivist thinkers
Positivist doctrine
Positive philosophy
Positive
Greater than zero;
Positive numbers
Positive
Marked by excessive confidence;
An arrogant and cocksure materialist
So overconfident and impudent as to speak to the queen
The less he knows the more positive he gets
Positive
Persuaded of; very sure;
Were convinced that it would be to their advantage to join
I am positive he is lying
Was confident he would win
Positive
Granting what has been desired or requested;
A favorable reply
A positive answer
Common Curiosities
What does "positive" mean in a medical context?
It indicates the presence of a condition or substance, like a positive COVID-19 test.
What is the difference between positive and negative numbers?
Positive numbers are greater than zero, while negative numbers are less than zero.
How can negative criticism be constructive?
By providing specific suggestions for improvement that help someone grow.
Can feedback be both positive and negative?
Yes, positive feedback encourages and affirms, while negative feedback highlights issues for improvement.
How does a negative mindset affect behavior?
It often leads to pessimism, reduced motivation, and an increased focus on challenges.
What does negative equity mean in real estate?
It means the property value is less than the mortgage owed.
How is "negative" used in photography?
A negative image reverses colors and light, serving as a template for producing prints.
Is a positive attitude always beneficial?
Generally, yes, as it promotes optimism and resilience, but realistic expectations are also important.
In finance, what does a positive cash flow imply?
It suggests that more money is coming in than going out, indicating financial health.
Why do positive results in a test sometimes cause concern?
They confirm the presence of a disease or condition that may require treatment.
What is the role of positive reinforcement in learning?
It encourages repeating desired behaviors by rewarding them, enhancing learning outcomes.
Are positive numbers always beneficial in data analysis?
Not necessarily; it depends on the context, such as gains vs. liabilities.
What does "negativity bias" refer to in psychology?
The tendency to give more weight to negative experiences or information than to positive ones.
Can negative feedback improve productivity?
Yes, when constructive, it can pinpoint areas needing enhancement, thus boosting efficiency.
What is a positive spin on news or events?
It’s presenting them in a favorable light, highlighting the good aspects.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Maham Liaqat
