Very much a negative result (2,3)
I believe the answer is:
no end
'very much' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'a negative result' is the wordplay.
'a negative' becomes 'no' (no is a kind of negative).
'result' becomes 'end' (I've seen this before).
'no'+'end'='NO END'
(Other definitions for no end that I've seen before include "Without limit" , "Non-stop" , "what eternity offers?" , "A lot" , "Very much (unfinished?)" .)