A term indicating the absence of any quality which might be naturally or rationally expected; called also privative term
{s} causing deprivation; denying, depriving, withholding; making negative, indicating negation
Implying privation or negation; giving a negative force to a word; as, alpha privative; privative particles; applied to such prefixes and suffixes as a- Gr
The prefix a- (or an- when prefixing a root which begins with a vowel) found in some English words of Greek derivation. It expresses negation or absence. The prefix has cognates in other Indo-European languages, including in- in Latin and un- in English