DOUBLE NEGATIVE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does double negative mean? 

• DOUBLE NEGATIVE (noun)
  The noun DOUBLE NEGATIVE has 2 senses:

1. an affirmative constructed from two negatives

2. a grammatically substandard but emphatic negative

  Familiarity information: DOUBLE NEGATIVE used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DOUBLE NEGATIVE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An affirmative constructed from two negatives

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

A not unwelcome outcome

Hypernyms ("double negative" is a kind of...):

affirmative (a reply of affirmation)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A grammatically substandard but emphatic negative

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

I don't never go

Hypernyms ("double negative" is a kind of...):

negative (a reply of denial)

 Context examples 

A double negative is—let me see—well, you say, 'never helped nobody.' 'Never' is a negative. 'Nobody' is another negative. It is a rule that two negatives make a positive.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

"What's the double negative?" he demanded; then added humbly, "You see, I don't even understand your explanations."

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

A double negative jarred him like a discord, and often, from lack of practice, it was from his own lips that the jar came.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Well, then, you say, 'You was'; it should be, 'You were.' You say 'I seen' for 'I saw.' You use the double negative—

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)