positive definite
Americanadjective
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(of a quadratic form) positive for all real values of the variables, where the values are not all zero.
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(of a matrix) displaying the coefficients of a positive definite quadratic form.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of positive definite
First recorded in 1905–10
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Why didn't He say something positive, definite, satisfactory, about another world?
From Lectures of Col. R. G. Ingersoll - Latest by Robert Green Ingersoll
There ought to be some very quick, positive, definite answer.
From Unborn Tomorrow by Kelly Freas
His heart ached with a positive, definite pain that he was not younger, handsomer, and better equipped to win the love of his wife.
From He Fell in Love with His Wife by Edward Payson Roe
“You mean that it has come as a positive definite occurrence, with a name and a date?”
From The Beast in the Jungle by Henry James
There is hope, positive, definite hope for every case—this fact is based on every imaginable form of stuttering or stammering.
From Stammering, Its Cause and Cure by Benjamin Nathaniel Bogue
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
