in the negative
Negatively, as by saying or indicating "no." We made a great pitch for expanding the playground, but unfortunately, town counsel responded in the negative. Not enough funding or something. Mom is definitely going to respond in the negative if you ask for a later curfew! If the board responds in the negative, we won't have the funding to continue to our research.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.