Negative relationship

In statistics, a relationship between two variables is negative if the slope in a corresponding graph is negative, or&mdash;what is in some contexts equivalent&mdash;if the correlation between them is negative.

Example:

"They observed a negative relationship between illness and vaccination."

As incident of vaccination is increasing, incidence of illness is decreasing, and vice versa.

Compare to a positive relationship: Observed a positive relationship between illness and missed work.

As incidence of illness increased, sick days taken also increased.