AI image glossary
What Is a Negative Prompt?
A negative prompt tells an AI image generator what to leave OUT — artifacts, styles or objects you don't want. How it works and when to use one.
The plain-English answer
A negative prompt is a second instruction some AI image generators accept that lists what you do NOT want in the image — things like "blurry, extra fingers, text, watermark". While the main prompt pulls the image toward your description, the negative prompt pushes it away from unwanted elements.
Negative prompts matter most in open models where artifacts are common; polished consumer tools bake many of those exclusions in, so you rarely need them there.
The practical rule: fix problems you actually see. If hands come out wrong, add "deformed hands" to the negative prompt; don't paste 50-term boilerplate lists that mostly dilute each other.
Put it into practice
Generate images and see how prompt phrasing shapes results.
