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• false-positive
  false-positive

  noun
• false positive
  false positive

  noun

  a result in a medical test that wrongly indicates the presence of the condition being tested for

false-positive

American  

[fawls-poz-i-tiv] / ˈfɔlsˈpɒz ɪ tɪv /

noun

1. Medicine/Medical.

   1. a test result that is incorrect because the test indicated a condition or finding that does not exist.

      a false-positive for syphilis.

   2. a person who receives this test result.

2. 1. any screening test result that incorrectly detected or classified a person or thing.

      A false-positive at the airport could cause you to miss your flight.

   2. a person or thing identified by such a test.

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adjective

1. pertaining to or being a false-positive.

   The test has a false-positive rate of 4%.

false positive British  

noun

1. a result in a medical test that wrongly indicates the presence of the condition being tested for

2. a person from whom such a result is obtained

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Etymology

Origin of false-positive

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

MacNab, who is also a consultant gynae-oncologist at the trust, explained that previously women would first be given ultrasound scans, but it could lead to false positive results.

From BBC • May 17, 2026

On average, the gloves introduced around 2,000 false positive signals per square millimeter.

From Science Daily • Mar. 29, 2026

It isn’t likely that a sober driver would receive a false positive, the spokesman says, and the system confirms any positive results with a retest.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025

Based on the data obtained by UnCommon Law, the group estimates that at least 15 California prisons recorded at least 200 false positive tests during that time period.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2025

The calculation is similar to the one on false positive results in drug testing, and, like it, demonstrates that misinterpreting fractions can be a matter of life and death.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos