No rousing start is negative (3)
I believe the answer is:
nor
'is negative' is the definition.
('nor' is an example of a negative)
'no rousing start' is the wordplay.
'start' says to take the initial letters.
The first letter of 'rousing' is 'r'.
'no'+'r'='NOR'
(Other definitions for nor that I've seen before include "Word paired with "neither"" , "Neither pairing" , "Negative word" , "logic circuit" , "And not; Norman (abbr.)" .)