Positive Definition
positive
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English
Etymology
From Old (and modern) French positif, or Latin positivus, from the past participle stem of ponere (“to place”). Compare posit.
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˈpɒzɪtɪv/ SAMPA: /"pQzItIv/
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Audio (US) (file) - Hyphenation: po‧si‧tive
Adjective
positive (comparative more positive, superlative most positive)
- Definitively laid down; explicitly stated; clearly expressed, precise, emphatic.
- Francis Bacon:
- Positive words, that he would not bear arms against King Edward’s son.
- Francis Bacon:
- Fully assured, confident; certain.
- I’m absolutely positive you've spelt that wrong.
- Overconfident, dogmatic.
- Alexander Pope:
- Some positive, persisting fops we know, That, if once wrong, will needs be always so.
- Alexander Pope:
- (grammar) Describing the primary sense of an adjective or adverb; not comparative or superlative.
- ‘Better’ is an irregular comparative of the positive form ‘good’.
- Derived from an object by itself; not dependent on changing circumstances or relations; absolute.
- The idea of beauty is not positive, but depends on the different tastes of individuals.
- Wholly what is expressed; colloquially downright, entire, outright.
- Good lord, you've built up a positive arsenal of weaponry here.
- Characterized by the existence or presence of qualities or features, rather than by their absence.
- The box was not empty – I felt some positive substance within it.
- Characterized by the presence of features which support a hypothesis.
- The results of our experiment are positive.
- Characterized by affirmation, constructiveness, or influence for the better; favourable.
- He has a positive outlook on life.
- The first-night reviews were largely positive.
- Jonathan Swift:
- a positive voice in legislation.
- (chiefly philosophy) Actual, real, concrete.
- Francis Bacon:
- Positive good.
- Francis Bacon:
- (photography) Of a visual image, true to the original in light, shade and colour values.
- A positive photograph can be developed from a photographic negative.
- (physics) Having more protons than electrons.
- A cation is a positive ion as it has more protons than electrons.
- (mathematics) Of number, greater than zero.
- (slang) HIV positive.
Synonyms
Antonyms
- (physics): negative
- (mathematics): nonpositive
- (doubtful): uncertain, unsure
Derived terms
- positive crystal
- positive degree
- positive electricity
- positive eyepiece
- positive law
- positive motion
- positive philosophy
- positive pole
- positive quantity
- positive rotation
- positive sign
- positive contribution
Noun
positive (plural positives)
- A thing capable of being affirmed; something real or actual.
- A favourable point or characteristic.
- Something having a positive value in physics, such as an electric charge.
- (grammar) An adjective or adverb in the positive degree.
- (photography) A positive image; one that displays true colors and shades, as opposed to a negative.
Translations
thing capable of being affirmed
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
French
Adjective
positive f.
- feminine form of positif
Verb
positive
- first-person singular present indicative of positiver
- third-person singular present indicative of positiver
- first-person singular present subjunctive of positiver
- third-person singular present subjunctive of positiver
- second-person singular imperative of positiver
Italian
Adjective
positive f. pl.
- feminine plural form of positivo
Anagrams
Latin
Adjective
positīve
- vocative masculine singular of positīvus
Swedish
Adjective
positive
- absolute definite natural masculine form of positiv.
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