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Definition of "negativism" []

  • A habitual attitude of skepticism or resistance to the suggestions, orders, or instructions of others. (noun)
  • Behavior characterized by persistent refusal, without apparent or logical reasons, to act on or carry out suggestions, orders, or instructions of others. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "negativism" in a sentence
  • ""Nattering nabobs of negativism" is one of the most popular turns of phrase associated with U.S. Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, who served under Richard Nixon until resigning in October 1974, after pleading no contest to charges of tax fraud."
  • "The negativism is really, to use a word I've already used, frightening."
  • "A noticeable trait of the parties and the leaders who are the backbones of these two Fronts is their 'negativism'-opposing whatever is in front of them rather than offer an alternative."