Testing & QualityIntermediate
False Negative
PronunciationFAWLS NEG-uh-tiv
Definition
A false negative occurs when a test or diagnostic tool incorrectly reports that no issue exists, even though a bug or defect is actually present. It is a failure to detect a problem that should have been caught.
Where you hear it
You hear this during test result analysis, bug triaging, or when discussing the reliability of automated testing suites.
Examples
The security scan returned a false negative, missing a critical vulnerability in the code.
We had a false negative in our unit tests because the assertion was checking the wrong variable.
Common mistake
Engineers often confuse a false negative with a false positive; remember that a false negative means the system "missed" a bug, while a false positive means the system "falsely flagged" a bug that isn't there.
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