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
Derived 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.
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
Why didn't He say something positive, definite, satisfactory, about another world?
From Lectures of Col. R. G. Ingersoll - Latest by Ingersoll, Robert Green
There ought to be some very quick, positive, definite answer.
From Unborn Tomorrow by Freas, Kelly
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
“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
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.
