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No, a standard deviation or variance does not have a negative sign. The reason for this is that the deviations from the mean are squared in the formula. Deviations are squared to get rid of signs.

In Absolute mean deviation, sum of the deviations is taken ignoring the signs, but there is no justification for doing so. (deviations are not squared here)

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Q: Can the standard deviation or variance be negative?
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