What is Negative prompt?
Telling an image model what you don't want — extra fingers, blur, text, watermarks — so it avoids those things.
Some tools have a separate “negative prompt” box; in chat-based tools you simply add an “avoid:” line. Common entries are distorted hands, extra limbs, blurry face, plastic skin, text and watermarks.
Keep negative prompts short and specific. A long list of everything bad can confuse the model and flatten the image.
Negative prompts are most useful for problems you see repeatedly in your results. If faces keep looking waxy, add “plastic skin”; if text keeps appearing on clothes, add “text, logos”. Re-test after each change, because removing one flaw can sometimes introduce another.
Example line
“Avoid: extra fingers, distorted hands, plastic skin, over-smoothed face, text, watermark.”
Related terms
The instruction you type into an AI tool. The clearer and more specific it is, the closer the result is to what you pictured.
Creating a picture from a written description. The core feature of ChatGPT images, Gemini, Midjourney and Flux.
Editing part of an image with AI (inpainting) or extending it beyond its edges (outpainting).