Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words (original) (raw)

positive

adjective

explicitly stated, stipulated, or expressed:
a positive acceptance of the agreement.
Synonyms: precise, clear, categorical, unequivocal, explicit
Antonyms: indefinite
admitting of no question:
positive proof.
Synonyms: indisputable, incontrovertible
Antonyms: doubtful
stated; express; emphatic:
a positive denial.
confident in opinion or assertion; fully assured:
He is positive that he will win the contest.
Synonyms: unquestioning
Antonyms: uncertain, unsure
overconfident or dogmatic:
The less he knows, the more positive he gets.
without relation to or comparison with other things; not relative or comparative; absolute.
Informal. downright; out-and-out:
She's a positive genius.
determined by enactment or convention; arbitrarily laid down:
positive law.
emphasizing what is laudable, hopeful, or to the good; constructive:
a positive attitude toward the future; positive things to say about a painting.
encouraging or noting a healthy or balanced outlook toward something, especially toward sex and sexuality (used in combination):
the body-positive movement;
sex-positive attitudes;
the body-positive movement;
a gay-positive movie.
not speculative or theoretical; practical:
a positive approach to the problem.
possessing an actual force, being, existence, etc.
1. constructive and sure, rather than skeptical.
concerned with or based on matters of experience:
positive philosophy.
showing or expressing approval or agreement; favorable:
a positive reaction to the speech.
consisting in or characterized by the presence or possession of distinguishing or marked qualities or features ( negative
):
Light is positive, darkness negative.
noting the presence of such qualities, as a term.
measured or proceeding in a direction assumed as beneficial, progressive, or auspicious:
a positive upturn in the stock market.
1. indicating a point in a circuit that has a higher potential than that of another point, the current flowing from the point of higher potential to the point of lower potential.
of, relating to, or noting the north pole of a magnet.
Chemistry. (of an element or group) tending to lose electrons and become positively charged; basic.
1. (of blood, affected tissue, etc.) indicating the presence of a specified medical condition or substance:
  Her urine was positive for opiates.
(of a diagnostic test) indicating the presence of the medical condition or substance tested for:
a positive test for tuberculosis.
(of a person) diagnosed as having a specified medical condition, or having a specified substance in the body (often used in combination):
She tested positive for lupus.
He's HIV positive.
She tested positive for lupus.
Mathematics. noting a quantity greater than zero.
(of government) assuming control or regulation of activities beyond those involved merely with the maintenance of law and order.
Biology. oriented or moving toward the focus of excitation:
a positive tropism.
Photography. denoting a print or transparency showing the brightness values as they are in the subject.
Machinery. noting or pertaining to a process or machine part having a fixed or certain operation, especially as the result of elimination of play, free motion, etc.:
positive lubrication.

noun

a positive quality or characteristic.
a positive quantity or symbol.
The athlete was disqualified from competing because his drug test came back a positive.
1. the positive degree.
2. a form in the positive, as good or smooth.
Photography. a positive image, as on a print or transparency.

/ ˈpɒzɪtɪv /

adjective

characterized by or expressing certainty or affirmation
a positive answer
composed of or possessing actual or specific qualities; real
a positive benefit
tending to emphasize what is good or laudable; constructive
he takes a very positive attitude when correcting pupils' mistakes
tending towards progress or improvement; moving in a beneficial direction
1. constructive rather than sceptical
2. (of a concept) denoting the presence rather than the absence of some property
independent of circumstances; absolute or unqualified
informal.
a positive delight
1. having a value greater than zero
  a positive number
2. designating, consisting of, or graduated in one or more quantities greater than zero
  positive direction
1. measured in a direction opposite to that regarded as negative
2. having the same magnitude as but opposite sense to an equivalent negative quantity
grammar
denoting the usual form of an adjective as opposed to its comparative or superlative form
biology
indicating movement or growth towards a particular stimulus
1. (of an electric charge) having an opposite polarity to the charge of an electron and the same polarity as the charge of a proton
(of a body, system, ion, etc) having a positive electric charge; having a deficiency of electrons
a positive ion
(of a point in an electric circuit) having a higher electric potential than some other point with an assigned zero potential
(of a lens) capable of causing convergence of a parallel beam of light
med
(of the results of an examination or test) indicating the existence or presence of a suspected disorder or pathogenic organism
med
(of the effect of a drug or therapeutic regimen) beneficial or satisfactory
(of a machine part) having precise motion with no hysteresis or backlash
(of a government) directly involved in activities beyond the minimum maintenance of law and order, such as social welfare or the organization of scientific research
economics
of or denoting an analysis that is free of ethical, political, or value judgments
astrology
of, relating to, or governed by the group of signs of the zodiac that belong to the air and fire classifications, which are associated with a self-expressive spontaneous nature

noun

something that is positive
maths
a quantity greater than zero
photog
a print or slide showing a photographic image whose colours or tones correspond to those of the original subject
grammar
the positive degree of an adjective or adverb
a positive object, such as a terminal or plate in a voltaic cell
1. Also calledpositive organ
  a medieval nonportable organ with one manual and no pedals
  Compare portative organ
2. a variant spelling of positif

/ pŏz′ĭ-tĭv /

Having an electric charge or voltage greater than zero.
Indicating the presence of a disease, condition, or organism, as a diagnostic test.

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Derived Forms

ˈpositiveness, noun

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Other Words From

posi·tive·ness noun
over·posi·tive adjective
over·posi·tive·ly adverb
over·posi·tive·ness noun
quasi-posi·tive adjective
quasi-posi·tive·ly adverb
super·posi·tive adjective
super·posi·tive·ly adverb
super·posi·tive·ness noun
un·posi·tive adjective
un·posi·tive·ly adverb
un·posi·tive·ness noun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of positive1

First recorded in

1250–1300;

from Latin positīvus; replacing Middle English positif, from Middle French, from Latin, as above.

See posit,

-ive

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Word History and Origins

Origin of positive1

C13: from Late Latin positīvus positive, agreed on an arbitrary basis, from pōnere to place

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Example Sentences

This final Test of the year against top-level opposition showcased the positives and negatives that have run through a mixed autumn for England.

She hoped her positive message would encourage people to “turn the page” on Mr. Trump’s attempts at dividing the country.

It would be remiss to not start with the positive.

A growing number of studies have demonstrated the positive effects on the human immune system, moods and the microbiome, as the microorganism population of the body is known.

"It was a way for people to just be positive and celebratory about each other, which is what we need when everyone is so nasty and negative on social media."

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When To Use

What are other ways to say positive?

To be positive of something is to be fully assured of its truth or accuracy. How is positive different from certain, confident, and sure? Find out on Thesaurus.com.