negation

evil is not merely the negation of goodness.

to express emphatic negation

there should be confirmation—or negation—of the findings.

the negation of A is, briefly, ‘not A’.

No reasonable negation can be offered.

The author boxed the compass of negation in his article.

Although not universal, a vertical head nod for approval and a lateral headshake for negation is a common pattern across many cultures.