What does double negative mean?

Definitions for double negative
dou·ble neg·a·tive

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word double negative.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. double negativenoun

    an affirmative constructed from two negatives

    "A not unwelcome outcome"

  2. double negativenoun

    a grammatically substandard but emphatic negative

    "I don't never go"

Wiktionary

  1. double negativenoun

    A phrase in which there are two negative words or their compounds (e.g. no, not, never, none, etc), occasionally leading to ambiguity in the meaning, but necessary in some foreign languages.

ChatGPT

  1. double negative

    A double negative is a grammatical construction that uses two negatives in the same clause or sentence, often causing a positive meaning. For instance, in the sentence "I don't need no help," the two negative words "don't" and "no" technically cancel each other out, suggesting that in fact, the speaker does need help. While in standard English, double negatives are often considered incorrect, they are common in many dialects and colloquial speech.

Wikidata

  1. Double negative

    A double negative occurs when two forms of negation are used in the same sentence. Multiple negation is the more general term referring to the occurrence of more than one negative in a clause. In most logics and some languages, double negatives cancel one another and produce an affirmative sense; in other languages, doubled negatives intensify the negation. Languages where multiple negatives intensify each other are said to have negative concord. Portuguese, French, Persian, Russian, Ukrainian, and Spanish are examples of negative-concord languages, while Latin and German do not have negative concord. Standard English lacks negative concord, but it was normal in Old English and Middle English, and some modern dialects do have it, although its usage in English is often stigmatized. Languages without negative concord typically have negative polarity items that are used in place of additional negatives when another negating word already occurs. Examples are "ever", "anything" and "anyone" in the sentence "I haven't ever owed anything to anyone". Note that negative polarity can be triggered not only by direct negatives such as "not" or "never", but by words such as "doubt" or "hardly".

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of double negative in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of double negative in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of double negative in a Sentence

  1. Donald Trump:

    The sentence should have been :' I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be Russia,' sort of a double negative.

  2. Donald Trump:

    The sentence should have been,' I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be Russia,' sort of a double negative, so you can put that in, and I think that probably clarifies things pretty good.


Translations for double negative

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

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"double negative." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/double+negative>.

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