negatory
negatory Lexical Profile
negatory Game Scores & Validity
• interjection
North American Used to express a refusal, denial, or negative reply, originally in CB radio slang.
"Negatory, good buddy—the highway is completely blocked ahead."
• adjective
Expressing or implying denial, refusal, or negation; of a negative character.
"The committee issued a strictly negatory response to the developer's zoning request."
Word Nuance & Usage
While originally a formal adjective meaning 'expressing denial', 'negatory' is now overwhelmingly used in informal contexts and CB radio slang as a humorous or emphatic substitute for 'no' or 'negative'.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the 16th century from Middle French négatoire or Late Latin negatorius, from the verb negare ('to deny'); the modern interjectional sense was popularized in the 1970s by North American citizens band (CB) radio slang.