false-positive

[fawls-poz-i-tiv]

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.

adjective

1. pertaining to or being a false-positive.

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

false positive

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of false-positive¹

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

With the passage of two years’ time, it turns out that 35% of the patients whose Galleri test was initially thought to be just a false-positive, did indeed turn out to have cancer.

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Interestingly, the study notes that as these mutations are common in the sperm, it may look like some genes cause false-positive disease association due to the elevated mutation rate rather than a true disease link.

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When I asked—a little hesitantly—she told me that she’s phased out the DRE for her patients in favor of a blood test that, while not foolproof, is less likely to result in false-positive results.

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What’s become clear, he said, is that physicians conducting DREs are fairly likely to deliver false-positive results: “So then these men have to see a urologist, and that leads to unnecessary anxiety, unnecessary further care, perhaps an unnecessary biopsy.”

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Mammography successfully reduces breast cancer mortality, but also carries the risk of false-positive findings.

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