positive definite

American  

adjective

Mathematics.

1. (of a quadratic form) positive for all real values of the variables, where the values are not all zero.

2. (of a matrix) displaying the coefficients of a positive definite quadratic form.

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Other Word Forms

• positive definiteness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of positive definite

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

positive definite

“You mean that it has come as a positive definite occurrence, with a name and a date?”

From The Beast in the Jungle by James, Henry

Anything positive, definite, susceptible of proof, no matter how distressing, would be more tolerable than this suspense, this maddening conjecture.

From Infelice by Evans, Augusta J. (Augusta Jane)

Nearly at the same time an important change passed over her religious views, and the vague deism of her youth deepened into a positive, definite, and earnest Christianity, but without mysticism and without intolerance.

From Historical and Political Essays by Lecky, William Edward Hartpole

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 Roe, Edward Payson

And as these biological facts, scanty, indefinite, rudimentary, though they are, aid him so essentially; judge what must be the value to him of such facts when they become positive, definite, and exhaustive.

From Essays on Education and Kindred Subjects Everyman's Library by Spencer, Herbert