To nullify or make ineffective; to deny the existence or truth of something. It means to cancel out or render void through opposition or contradiction.
From Latin 'negare' meaning 'to deny' or 'to say no,' from the root meaning 'not.' The word entered English in the 17th century, maintaining its sense of denial or nullification.
Negate comes from the same Latin root as 'negative' and 'negligent' (literally 'not choosing')! The word reveals how denial isn't just saying 'no' - it's actively canceling out or neutralizing something. In logic and mathematics, negation creates the opposite or inverse of what existed before!
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