positive

[ poz-i-tiv ]

/ ˈpɒz ɪ tɪv /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: positive / positives / positiveness on Thesaurus.com

adjective

explicitly stated, stipulated, or expressed: a positive acceptance of the agreement.

admitting of no question: positive proof.

stated; express; emphatic: a positive denial.

confident in opinion or assertion; fully assured: He is positive that he will win the contest.

overconfident or dogmatic: The less he knows, the more positive he gets.

without relation to or comparison with other things; not relative or comparative; absolute.

Informal. downright; out-and-out: She's a positive genius.

determined by enactment or convention; arbitrarily laid down: positive law.

emphasizing what is laudable, hopeful, or to the good; constructive: a positive attitude toward the future; positive things to say about a painting.

encouraging or noting a healthy or balanced outlook toward something, especially toward sex and sexuality (used in combination):sex-positive attitudes;the body-positive movement;a gay-positive movie.

not speculative or theoretical; practical: a positive approach to the problem.

possessing an actual force, being, existence, etc.

Philosophy.

constructive and sure, rather than skeptical.
concerned with or based on matters of experience: positive philosophy.

showing or expressing approval or agreement; favorable: a positive reaction to the speech.

consisting in or characterized by the presence or possession of distinguishing or marked qualities or features (opposed to negative): Light is positive, darkness negative.

noting the presence of such qualities, as a term.

measured or proceeding in a direction assumed as beneficial, progressive, or auspicious: a positive upturn in the stock market.

Electricity.

of, relating to, or characterized by positive electricity.
indicating a point in a circuit that has a higher potential than that of another point, the current flowing from the point of higher potential to the point of lower potential.

of, relating to, or noting the north pole of a magnet.

Chemistry. (of an element or group) tending to lose electrons and become positively charged; basic.

Grammar. being, noting, or pertaining to the initial degree of the comparison of adjectives and adverbs, as the positive form good.Compare comparative (def. 4), superlative (def. 2).

Medicine/Medical.

(of blood, affected tissue, etc.) indicating the presence of a specified medical condition or substance:Her urine was positive for opiates.
(of a diagnostic test) indicating the presence of the medical condition or substance tested for:a positive test for tuberculosis.
(of a person) diagnosed as having a specified medical condition, or having a specified substance in the body (often used in combination):He's HIV positive.She tested positive for lupus.

Biochemistry. Rh factor.

Mathematics. noting a quantity greater than zero.

(of government) assuming control or regulation of activities beyond those involved merely with the maintenance of law and order.

Biology. oriented or moving toward the focus of excitation: a positive tropism.

Photography. denoting a print or transparency showing the brightness values as they are in the subject.

Machinery. noting or pertaining to a process or machine part having a fixed or certain operation, especially as the result of elimination of play, free motion, etc.: positive lubrication.

noun

something positive.

a positive quality or characteristic.

a positive quantity or symbol.

a positive test result:The athlete was disqualified from competing because his drug test came back a positive.

Grammar.

the positive degree.
a form in the positive, as good or smooth.

Photography. a positive image, as on a print or transparency.

OTHER WORDS FOR positive

1 explicit, unequivocal, categorical, clear, precise.

2 incontrovertible, indisputable.

4 unquestioning.

See synonyms for positive on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR positive

1 indefinite.

2 doubtful.

4 unsure, uncertain, unconfident.

See antonyms for positive on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of positive

First recorded in 1250–1300; from Latin positīvus; replacing Middle English positif, from Middle French, from Latin, as above. See posit, -ive

OTHER WORDS FROM positive

pos·i·tive·ness, nouno·ver·pos·i·tive, adjectiveo·ver·pos·i·tive·ly, adverbo·ver·pos·i·tive·ness, noun

qua·si-pos·i·tive, adjectivequa·si-pos·i·tive·ly, adverbsu·per·pos·i·tive, adjectivesu·per·pos·i·tive·ly, adverbsu·per·pos·i·tive·ness, nounun·pos·i·tive, adjectiveun·pos·i·tive·ly, adverbun·pos·i·tive·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use positive in a sentence

There was also an additional positive case at a building across the street.
Despite precautions, CBS headquarters reports 15 coronavirus cases amid nationwide surge|Jeremy Barr|November 20, 2020|Washington Post
A number of NFL players have tested positive for the coronavirus, though no games have been canceled.
Pennsylvania says all athletes must wear masks while playing. The Steelers say they’re exempt.|Matt Bonesteel|November 20, 2020|Washington Post
About 30 Lorien employees had just tested positive, according to the University of Maryland lab.
Hogan’s first batch of coronavirus tests from South Korea were flawed, never used|Steve Thompson|November 20, 2020|Washington Post
There are other positives to take from the upcoming winter, but it will involve managing expectations.
How COVID-19 Could Actually Be Good for Skiing|Marc Peruzzi|November 20, 2020|Outside Online

Then, in August, the first resident tested positive after returning from a hospital in Charlottesville.
Maryland and Virginia nursing homes battle explosive covid-19 outbreaks — again|Rebecca Tan, Rachel Chason|November 20, 2020|Washington Post
But meantime, all we can say with positiveness is this: man, the created, is becoming the creator.
The Book of Life: Vol. I Mind and Body; Vol. II Love and Society|Upton Sinclair
The boy spoke eagerly, but the more wily schemer shook his head with positiveness.
The Code of the Mountains|Charles Neville Buck
But everywhere Aaron ben Elijah lacks the positiveness and commanding mastery of Maimonides.
A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy|Isaac Husik
Across the illusory positiveness of his world—immaterial, psychological, ghostly—an intermediate orb—a tangible shadow was thrown.
Under the Rose|Frederic Stewart Isham
“Let him go home in the rain, to be sure,” is given with positiveness, as if it settled the whole matter.
Browning and the Dramatic Monologue|S. S. Curry

British Dictionary definitions for positive

positive

/ (ˈpɒzɪtɪv) /

adjective

characterized by or expressing certainty or affirmationa positive answer

composed of or possessing actual or specific qualities; reala positive benefit

tending to emphasize what is good or laudable; constructivehe takes a very positive attitude when correcting pupils' mistakes

tending towards progress or improvement; moving in a beneficial direction

philosophy

constructive rather than sceptical
(of a concept) denoting the presence rather than the absence of some property

independent of circumstances; absolute or unqualified

(prenominal) informal (intensifier)a positive delight

maths

having a value greater than zeroa positive number
designating, consisting of, or graduated in one or more quantities greater than zeropositive direction

maths

measured in a direction opposite to that regarded as negative
having the same magnitude as but opposite sense to an equivalent negative quantity

grammar denoting the usual form of an adjective as opposed to its comparative or superlative form

biology indicating movement or growth towards a particular stimulus

physics

(of an electric charge) having an opposite polarity to the charge of an electron and the same polarity as the charge of a proton
(of a body, system, ion, etc) having a positive electric charge; having a deficiency of electronsa positive ion
(of a point in an electric circuit) having a higher electric potential than some other point with an assigned zero potential

short for electropositive

(of a lens) capable of causing convergence of a parallel beam of light

med (of the results of an examination or test) indicating the existence or presence of a suspected disorder or pathogenic organism

med (of the effect of a drug or therapeutic regimen) beneficial or satisfactory

short for Rh positive

(of a machine part) having precise motion with no hysteresis or backlash

mainly US (of a government) directly involved in activities beyond the minimum maintenance of law and order, such as social welfare or the organization of scientific research

economics of or denoting an analysis that is free of ethical, political, or value judgments

astrology of, relating to, or governed by the group of signs of the zodiac that belong to the air and fire classifications, which are associated with a self-expressive spontaneous nature

noun

something that is positive

maths a quantity greater than zero

photog a print or slide showing a photographic image whose colours or tones correspond to those of the original subject

grammar the positive degree of an adjective or adverb

a positive object, such as a terminal or plate in a voltaic cell

music

Also called: positive organ a medieval nonportable organ with one manual and no pedalsCompare portative organ
a variant spelling of positif

Compare negative

Derived forms of positive

positiveness or positivity, noun

Word Origin for positive

C13: from Late Latin positīvus positive, agreed on an arbitrary basis, from pōnere to place

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for positive

positive

[ pŏz′ĭ-tĭv ]

Greater than zero.

Having an electric charge or voltage greater than zero.

Indicating the presence of a disease, condition, or organism, as a diagnostic test.

positive

OTHER WORDS FOR positive

OPPOSITES FOR positive

Origin of positive

OTHER WORDS FROM positive

Words related to positive

How to use positive in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for positive

Derived forms of positive

Word Origin for positive

Scientific definitions for positive