positive

Pronunciation

• IPA ^(key): /ˈpɒzɪtɪv/

• Audio (US)

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Adjective

Positive positive

Comparative more positive

Superlative most positive

1. If something is positive, it is good, happy, or wanted.

   A balanced diet, exercise, and a positive attitude are all things that give you a sense of well being.

   After using the new skin cream for four weeks, most women showed positive results, reporting that their skin felt smoother and softer and looked better.

   The changes in the prices were all positive.

2. (not before a noun) If you are positive about something, you are sure that you are not mistaken.

   The guard at Euston was positive that on that particular day he had locked the door.

3. If a test result is positive, the test found what it was testing for.

   I'm sorry, the HIV test is positive.

4. (technical) A positive electrical charge is one carried by a proton.

   Attach the wire to the positive pole of the battery.

5. A positive number or value is more than zero.

   A positive number multiplied by a negative number results in a negative.

   The Kelvin scale of temperature is absolute since only positive temperatures are possible.

6. (psychology) A positive symptom is one where something is there that should not be. Usually this is for schizophrenia.

   His positive symptoms included hearing voices of people that were not there.

7. Based on something being there or being true, in some other way.

   I tie-bleached my shirt to make a negative image, then tie-dyed it to add a positive image.

   There were negative rules, telling us what not to do, as well as positive ones telling us what to do.

Antonyms

• negative

Related words

• positively
• positivist
• positivism
• positivity

Noun

Singular positive

Plural positives

1. (countable) A positive is a good thing or part of something.

   It's been a bad week, but at least the sun is one positive.