Determine if the sum of -6 and 4 is positive or negative.

1. Perform the addition: We need to calculate the sum of $-6$ and $4$. This is written as $-6 + 4$.

2. Determine the sign of the result: When adding two numbers with different signs, we subtract the smaller absolute value from the larger absolute value and keep the sign of the number with the larger absolute value.
- The absolute value of $-6$ is $|-6| = 6$.
- The absolute value of $4$ is $|4| = 4$.
- Since $6 > 4$, the result will have the same sign as $-6$, which is negative.
- The difference between the absolute values is $6 - 4 = 2$.

1. State the final answer: Therefore, $-6 + 4 = -2$. Since $-2$ is less than zero, it is a negative number.