- Dictionary
- Word comparison: empirical vs. theoretical
empirical vs. theoretical
empirical vs. theoretical: What's the difference?
Empirical means based on observations or experience. Theoretical means based on theories and hypotheses. The two terms are often used in scientific practice to refer to data, methods, or probabilities.
adjective
derived from or guided by direct experience or by experiment, rather than abstract principles or theory.
Empirical evidence of changes in kelp consumption was gathered by measuring the bite marks in seaweed fronds.
Antonyms: theoretical, secondhanddepending upon experience or observation alone, without using scientific method or theory, and hence sometimes insufficiently authoritative, especially as in medicine.
That is nothing but an empirical conclusion with no regard for the laws of thermodynamics.
Antonyms: theoretical, secondhandprovable or verifiable by experience or experiment, as scientific laws.
Theoretical physics is criticized for producing complex concepts that are mathematical, not empirical.
adjective
of, relating to, or consisting in theory; not practical (applied ).
existing only in theory; hypothetical.
given to, forming, or dealing with theories; speculative.
