Negative, but always to the point (5)
I believe the answer is:
never
'negative but always to the point' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'always to the point' is the wordplay.
'always' becomes 'ever' (synonyms).
'to' means one lot of letters go next to another (I've seen this in other clues).
'the point' becomes 'n' (N is an example).
'ever' after 'n' is 'NEVER'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for never that I've seen before include "I refuse" , "Under no circumstances" , "On no account" , "At no time in the past or future" , "Not ever" .)