Definition of "positive"

positive

/ˈpɒzɪtɪv/

adjective
comparative more positive, superlative most positive
1. Not negative or neutral.
2. (law) Formally laid down.
  Quotations
  In laws, that which is natural bindeth universally; that which is positive, not so.
  1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie
3. Stated definitively and without qualification.
  Quotations
  Positive words, that he would not bear arms against King Edward’s son.
  1622, Francis, Lord Verulam, Viscount St. Alban [i.e. Francis Bacon], The Historie of the Raigne of King Henry the Seventh, […], London: […] W[illiam] Stansby for Matthew Lownes, and William Barret
4. Fully assured in opinion.
5. (mathematics) Of number, greater than zero.
6. Characterized by constructiveness or influence for the better.
  Quotations
  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?
  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 […], page 11
7. Overconfident, dogmatic.
  Quotations
  Some positive, persisting fops we know, That, if once wrong, will needs be always so.
  1709, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Criticism, London: […] W. Lewis […], published 1711
8. (chiefly philosophy) Actual, real, concrete, not theoretical or speculative.
  Quotations
  [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.
  1597, Francis [Bacon], “Of the Colours of Good and Evill, a Fragment”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland […], published 1632
  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...
  1885, Marcellin Berthelot, Les Origines de l'Alkimie as quoted in M. M. Pattison Muir, A History of Chemical Theories and Laws, 1907.
9. (physics) Having more protons than electrons.
10. (grammar) Describing the primary sense of an adjective, adverb or noun; not comparative, superlative, augmentative nor diminutive.
11. (grammar) Describing a verb that is not negated, especially in languages which have distinct positive and negative verb forms, e.g., Finnish.
12. Derived from an object by itself; not dependent on changing circumstances or relations.
13. Characterized by the existence or presence of distinguishing qualities or features, rather than by their absence.
14. Characterized by the presence of features which support a hypothesis.
15. (photography) Of a visual image, true to the original in light, shade and colour values.
16. Favorable, desirable by those interested or invested in that which is being judged.
17. Wholly what is expressed; colloquially downright, entire, outright.
18. Optimistic.
19. (chemistry) electropositive
20. (chemistry) basic; metallic; not acid; opposed to negative, and said of metals, bases, and basic radicals.
21. (slang) HIV positive.
  Quotations
  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.
  quoted in 2013, William I. Johnston, HIV-Negative: How the Uninfected Are Affected by AIDS (page 145)
22. (New Age jargon) Good, desirable, healthful, pleasant, enjoyable; (often precedes 'energy', 'thought', 'feeling' or 'emotion').
  Quotations
  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...
  2009, Christopher Johns, Becoming a Reflective Practitioner, John Wiley & Sons, page 15
23. downright, confirmed, straight-up.
  Quotations
  Ben […] , who seems at first to be a likable guy but is actually a positive sexist.
  1986 April 19, Shelley Mains, “TV Shows Dykes as Yuppie "Gay Women"”, in Gay Community News, page 6
noun
plural positives
1. A thing capable of being affirmed; something real or actual.
  Quotations
  rating Positives by their Privatives
  1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, 6th edition, volumes (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: […] J[ames] Bettenham, for Jonah Bowyer, […], published 1727
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.

Definition of "positive"

positive

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noun

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