negative option

noun

: a provision in a mail-order contract (as of a book club) that requires the customer either to return a refusal card within a specified time or to accept the current selection

Word History

First Known Use

1970, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of negative option was in 1970

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Negative option.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/negative%20option. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation