empirical

[ em-pir-i-kuhl ]

/ ɛmˈpɪr ɪ kəl /

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adjective

derived from or guided by experience or experiment.

depending upon experience or observation alone, without using scientific method or theory, especially as in medicine.

provable or verifiable by experience or experiment.

Nearby words

Origin of empirical

First recorded in 1560–70; empiric + -al¹

SYNONYMS FOR empirical

1, 2. practical, firsthand, pragmatic.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR empirical ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR empirical

1, 2. secondhand, theoretical.

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Related forms

em·pir·i·cal·ly, adverbem·pir·i·cal·ness, nounan·ti·em·pir·i·cal, adjectivean·ti·em·pir·i·cal·ly, adverb

non·em·pir·i·cal, adjectivenon·em·pir·i·cal·ly, adverbo·ver·em·pir·i·cal, adjectiveo·ver·em·pir·i·cal·ly, adverbsem·i·em·pir·i·cal, adjectivesem·i·em·pir·i·cal·ly, adverbun·em·pir·i·cal, adjectiveun·em·pir·i·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for empirical

How do archaeologists wrap an empirical mind around capturing history?
The Real-Life Raiders of the Lost Ark|Alex Belth|November 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Overall, the weight of the empirical evidence supports these essentially conservative arguments for the minimum wage.
To Make Their Victory Durable, the GOP Must Fix the Minimum Wage|Dmitri Mehlhorn|November 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In all, Schwitzgebel thinks that this study has been an important step forward in empirical research of morality.
It’s Official: Religion Doesn’t Make You More Moral|Elizabeth Picciuto|September 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
No empirical data support his claim that the birth of a baby with Down syndrome makes the world—or the baby—unhappier.
Richard Dawkins Would Fail Philosophy 101|Elizabeth Picciuto|August 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Morris thinks this question is an empirical one, and his new book proposes an answer that he finds astonishing.
War! What Is It Good For? A Lot|Nick Romeo|August 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A very different type of method is taught by many teachers who pay special attention to the empirical topics of instruction.
The Psychology of Singing|David C. Taylor
If this theory were sound, science would be confined to the observation of empirical laws.
Logic, Inductive and Deductive|William Minto
But the certainty thus arrived at can be only that of an empirical law, true within the limits of the observations.
Analysis of Mr. Mill's System of Logic|William Stebbing
They regulate the understanding in its empirical pursuit of that systematic unity which it requires for its own satisfaction.
A Commentary to Kant's 'Critique of Pure Reason'|Norman Kemp Smith
Here also he endeavoured to separate pure a priori from empirical a posteriori knowledge.
The Basis of Morality|Arthur Schopenhauer

British Dictionary definitions for empirical

empirical

/ (ɛmˈpɪrɪkəl) /

adjective

derived from or relating to experiment and observation rather than theory

(of medical treatment) based on practical experience rather than scientific proof

philosophy

(of knowledge) derived from experience rather than by logic from first principlesCompare a priori, a posteriori
(of a proposition) subject, at least theoretically, to verificationCompare analytic (def. 4), synthetic (def. 4)

of or relating to medical quackery

noun

statistics the posterior probability of an event derived on the basis of its observed frequency in a sampleCompare mathematical probability See also posterior probability

Derived Formsempirically, adverbempiricalness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for empirical