Contents
English
Etymology
From Old (and modern) French positif, or Latin positivus, from the past participle stem of ponere (“‘to place’”). Compare posit.
Pronunciation
- Hyphenation: po‧si‧tive
Adjective
positive (comparative more positive, superlative most positive)
|
Positive 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
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
|
Singular positive |
Plural positives |
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.
Italian
Adjective
positive f. pl.
- Feminine form of positivo.
Anagrams
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eonline.com
Thu, 08 Jul 2010 06:13:26 GMT+00:00
for Amphetamines? No Problemo! E! Online (blog) "Her attitude has been positive ," the report states, plus she's been "cooperative" with her probation officer and has submitted to drug tests when asked. ... Why Is Lindsay Lohan On So Many Medications? MTV.com
opposingviews.com
unknown
hu, 29 Jul 2010 19:45:05 GM
False . Positive. Epidemics, DSM-V & Autism on Opposing Views. Issues, Experts, Answers.
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