double negative

dou·ble neg·a·tive

D d

Definitions of double negative words

noun double negative a syntactic construction in which two negative words are used in the same clause to express a single negation. 1
noun double negative grammar: use of 2 negatives together 1
noun double negative a syntactic construction, often considered ungrammatical in standard Modern English, in which two negatives are used where one is needed, as in I wouldn't never have believed it 0
noun double negative the use of two negatives in a single statement having a negative force (Ex.: “I didn't hear nothing”) 0
noun double negative (pejorative, rhetoric) 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. 0

before 1820

One of the 38% newest English words

First recorded in 1820-30

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

This term is known only to a narrow circle of people with rare knowledge. Only 3% of English native speakers know the meaning of this word.

According to our data most of word are more popular. This word is almost not used. It has a much more popular synonym.

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

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