Definition of the word positive

English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

• +ve (abbreviation)

Etymology[edit]

From Old French positif, from Latin positivus, from the past participle stem of ponere (“to place”). Compare posit.

Pronunciation[edit]

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɒzɪtɪv/
• (General American) enPR: pŏzʹĭ-tĭv, IPA^(key): /ˈpɑzɪtɪv/
• Rhymes: -ɒzɪtɪv
• Hyphenation (UK): pos‧it‧ive, (US): pos‧i‧tive

Adjective[edit]

positive (comparative more positive, superlative most positive)

1. Not negative or neutral.
2. (law) Formally laid down. [from the 14th c.]
   • 1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie

     In laws, that which is natural bindeth universally; that which is positive, not so.

3. Stated definitively and without qualification. [from the 16th c.]
4. Fully assured in opinion. [from the 17th c.]

   Synonyms: certain, sure, wis

   Antonyms: uncertain, unsure

   I’m absolutely positive you’ve spelt that wrong.

5. (mathematics) Of number, greater than zero. [from the 18th c.]

   Antonym: nonpositive

6. Characterized by constructiveness or influence for the better.

   • 1701, [Jonathan Swift], “Chapter I”, in A Discourse of the Contests and Dissensions between the Nobles and the Commons in Athens and Rome, with the Consequences They Had upon Both Those States, London: […] John Nutt […], →OCLC, page 11:

     Not to conſent to the Enacting of ſuch a Law, which has no view beſide to general Good, unleſs another Law ſhall at the ſame time paſs, with no other view but that of advancing the Power of one Party alone; What is this but to claim a positive Voice as well as a negative?

7. Overconfident, dogmatic.
9. (chiefly philosophy) Actual, real, concrete, not theoretical or speculative.

   • 1597, Francis [Bacon], “Of the Colours of Good and Evill, a Fragment”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland […], published 1632, →OCLC:

     [I]f the privation be good, it followes not the former condition was evill, but lesse good; for the flower or blossome, is a positive good, although the remove of it to give place to the fruit, be a comparative good.

   • 1885, Marcellin Berthelot, Les Origines de l’Alkimie as quoted in M. M. Pattison Muir, A History of Chemical Theories and Laws, 1907.

     Chemistry is not a primitive science, like geometry or astronomy; it is constructed from the debris of a previous scientific formation; a formation half chimerical and half positive…

10. (physics) Having more protons than electrons.

    Antonym: negative

    A cation is a positive ion as it has more protons than electrons.

11. (grammar) Describing the primary sense of an adjective, adverb or noun; not comparative, superlative, augmentative nor diminutive.

    ‘Better’ is an irregular comparative of the positive form ‘good’.

12. (grammar) Describing a verb that is not negated, especially in languages which have distinct positive and negative verb forms, e.g., Finnish.
13. Derived from an object by itself; not dependent on changing circumstances or relations.

    Synonym: absolute

    The idea of beauty is not positive, but depends on the different tastes of individuals.

    positive knowledge

14. Characterized by the existence or presence of distinguishing qualities or features, rather than by their absence.

    The box was not empty – I felt some positive substance within it.

16. Characterized by the presence of features which support a hypothesis.

    The results of our experiment are positive.

17. (photography) Of a visual image, true to the original in light, shade and colour values.

    A positive photograph can be developed from a photographic negative.

18. Favorable, desirable by those interested or invested in that which is being judged.

    The first-night reviews were largely positive.

19. Wholly what is expressed; colloquially downright, entire, outright.

    Good lord, you’ve built up a positive arsenal of weaponry here.

20. Optimistic. [from the 20th c.]

    He has a positive outlook on life.

21. (chemistry) electropositive
22. (chemistry) basic; metallic; not acid; opposed to negative, and said of metals, bases, and basic radicals.
23. (slang) HIV positive.
    • quoted in 2013, William I. Johnston, HIV-Negative: How the Uninfected Are Affected by AIDS (page 145)

      We certainly told him at that time that I was negative. We talked about transmission. We told him we don’t do anything that would cause me to become positive.

24. (New Age jargon) Good, desirable, healthful, pleasant, enjoyable; (often precedes ‘energy’, ‘thought’, ‘feeling’ or ’emotion’).
    • 2009, Christopher Johns, Becoming a Reflective Practitioner, John Wiley & Sons, p. 15

      Negative feelings can be worked through and their energy converted into positive energy… In crisis, normal patterns of self-organization fail, resulting in anxiety (negative energy). Being open systems, people can exchange this energy with the environment and create positive energy for taking action…

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Noun[edit]

positive (plural positives)

1. A thing capable of being affirmed; something real or actual.

   • 1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), 6th edition, London: […] J[ames] Bettenham, for Jonah Bowyer, […], published 1727, →OCLC:

     rating Positives by their Privatives

2. A favourable point or characteristic.
3. Something having a positive value in physics, such as an electric charge.
4. (grammar) A degree of comparison of adjectives and adverbs.
5. (grammar) An adjective or adverb in the positive degree.
6. (photography) A positive image; one that displays true colors and shades, as opposed to a negative.
7. The positive plate of a voltaic or electrolytic cell.
8. A positive result of a test.

Translations[edit]

Danish[edit]

Adjective[edit]

positive

1. inflection of positiv:
   1. definite singular
   2. plural

French[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /po.zi.tiv/
• Homophones: positivent, positives

Adjective[edit]

positive

1. feminine singular of positif

Verb[edit]

positive

1. inflection of positiver:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

German[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

positive

1. inflection of positiv:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Italian[edit]

Adjective[edit]

positive

1. feminine plural of positivo

Anagrams[edit]

• sopitevi

Latin[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /po.siˈtiː.u̯e/, [pɔs̠ɪˈt̪iːu̯ɛ]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /po.siˈti.ve/, [pos̬iˈt̪iːve]

Adjective[edit]

positīve

1. vocative masculine singular of positīvus

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Adjective[edit]

positive

1. definite singular of positiv
2. plural of positiv

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Adjective[edit]

positive

1. definite singular of positiv
2. plural of positiv

Spanish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /posiˈtibe/ [po.siˈt̪i.β̞e]
• Rhymes: -ibe
• Syllabification: po‧si‧ti‧ve

Verb[edit]

positive

1. inflection of positivar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Swedish[edit]

Adjective[edit]

positive

1. absolute definite natural masculine singular of positiv.

A smart publisher IMO is one that knows that any talk about a book is a positive thing, and that an honest review site is a site from which an honest *positive* review is worth having, too. ❋ Unknown (2007)

This Greenian, autonomy-based, conception of positive freedom is often run together with a very different notion of ˜positive™ freedom: freedom as effective power to act or to pursue one’s ends. ❋ Gaus, Gerald (2007)

And the magnetism of the whole circuit between the positive and the negative posts is in its _least_ volume next to the _positive post_, and in ❋ Daniel Clark (N/A)

So it is still true that on the negative half of the circuit, the _negative_ qualities _diminish_ as we advance towards the central point just as on the positive half, the _positive_ qualities diminish regularly towards the central point, as stated above. ❋ Daniel Clark (N/A)

And if this whole magnet be more and more positive, by regular degrees through all the sections, from its negative to its positive end or pole, then the nearer any given part of it, say the _second section_ — the patient’s person, may be to its positive pole in the negative post, so much the more _positive_ that section or part will be. ❋ Daniel Clark (N/A)

The question is whether there are any positive attributes which may be applied to God as actually denoting his essence — hence _positive essential_ attributes. ❋ Isaac Husik (1907)

The responses now undergo a change from positive to _less positive_; fatigue, that is to say, appears. ❋ Jagadis Chandra Bose (1897)

Under continued stimulation, they increase in the same direction as in the last case, that is to say, from less positive to _more positive_, being the reverse of fatigue. ❋ Jagadis Chandra Bose (1897)

But the hypothesis that history _might_ contain facts which it does _not_ contain, is no positive evidence for the truth of those facts; and this is the present question; what is the _positive_ evidence that the Church ever believed or taught a Gospel substantially different from that which her extant documents contain? ❋ John Henry Newman (1845)

_negative pole_ of this magnet is the _wire end of the cord_ placed in the positive post, and its _positive_ pole in the _positive electrode_ placed upon the person of the patient. ❋ Daniel Clark (N/A)

_reverse_ of it; that is to say, the positive _post_ is not _positive_ in relation to the _negative post_, but is _negative_ to it; and the positive _electrode or pole_ is not positive in relation to the ❋ Daniel Clark (N/A)

When it comes to brand loyalty, NGLs are leveraging their vast social networks to spread the word positive or negative about brands. ❋ Jose Tillan (2011)

When I first heard the term HIV-positive, I thought it was a good thing, because the classification had the word positive in it. ❋ J. Alexander (2009)

That is partly why I was expressing caution about using the term positive feedback for the example I used in which the rate of increase of a population was proportional to the number of reproducing members of the current population. ❋ Unknown (2007)

Take a moment and write down some of the descriptive words that come to mind when you hear the phrase positive teen. ❋ Karol Ladd (2005)

The term positive force, then, applies to both phases, one as a way of being aware of something and one as a nonstatic abstraction, a positive potential. ❋ Unknown (2004)

It is from this that the term positive-negative is taken. ❋ J. S. Zerbe (N/A)

giving to a [helpless] [bum] [on the street] because they need money to eat and live ❋ A Mans Gotta Be A Man (2004)

Buying a [chocolate chip muffin] [sounds] [pretty] positive. ❋ Keith (2004)

I was at a casino and this chick wanted to bang me. She said, «Hey, we can do it, but I am positive, are [ayou]?» She also referrenced that she liked it up the back.
I didn’t know what she meant by positive so I declined. Fortunatley I did not [bang her] in the ass as she would have infected me with [the virus] that causes AIDS. ❋ Nick (2005)

In order to make it nowadays you gotta think positive!
—
[Optimist]: This is the perfect outfit for your date.
[Pessimist]: WHAT THE HELL, ARE YOU POSITIVE THAT IT WILL WORK ??!
Optimist: Why of course, would I lie to you?
—
Doctor: You’re positive, that means you should start taking AIDS medicine right away.
Patient: You can shove that AIDS medicine up [jer] ass ! ❋ Madame Zelda (2005)

you gots ta look inside ya self, [positate] the negative, when life throws pies at you, you make ya self a [tall cool] glass of [piemonade]
[Positate] without pizzaz and jam!! Whoa! ❋ ZEli (2005)

We are [going] to positize that [thought] ❋ Witha (2016)

If you have to [construct] «[positivity]» out of [the ether], and put it in places it clearly doesn’t belong….it’s probably bullshit. What’s «positive» about lying to yourself? ❋ Olive989 (2022)

[Doctor]: Well, I looked at [the test] results…and dude, you’re positive.
Positive Guy:…[NOOOOOOOO]!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!….Really?
Doctor: Yeah.
Positive Guy:…NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ❋ Some Random Hot Sexy Guy (2008)

Have you listened to «positions» by [Ariana Grande]? ❋ JayKennyFan (2020)

Person 1: Hey what are you [listening] to
Person 2: positions by [ariana grande] its such a good [album] ❋ Wxllxxmx (2020)

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For a manager to be perceived as a positive manager, they need a four to one positive to negative contact ratio.

Ken Blanchard

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD POSITIVE

From Late Latin positīvus positive, agreed on an arbitrary basis, from pōnere to place.

PRONUNCIATION OF POSITIVE

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF POSITIVE

Positive can act as a noun and an adjective.

WHAT DOES POSITIVE MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Definition of positive in the English dictionary

The first definition of positive in the dictionary is characterized by or expressing certainty or affirmation. Other definition of positive is composed of or possessing actual or specific qualities; real. Positive is also tending to emphasize what is good or laudable; constructive.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH POSITIVE

SYNONYMS OF «POSITIVE»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «positive» and belong to the same grammatical category.

TRANSLATION OF POSITIVE

Find out the translation of positive to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «POSITIVE»

The term «positive» is very widely used and occupies the 2.575 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.

Principal search tendencies and common uses of positive

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «POSITIVE» OVER TIME

10 QUOTES WITH «POSITIVE»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word positive.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «POSITIVE»

Discover the use of positive in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to positive and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «POSITIVE»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term positive is used in the context of the following news items.

REFERENCE

« EDUCALINGO. Positive [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/positive>. Apr 2023 ».