Skip to main content
positive

positive

273 4.1
Shows that a disease or substance is present
  • adjective
  • /ˈpɒzɪtɪv/
  • Specialized
: positivo
  • Patients in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus have sadly died.
  • a positive test
  • false positive
  • positive and negative

President Biden fully vaccinated, twice boosted, has tested positive for COVID.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • OK, so when you gave her that positive pregnancy test, you had already lost the baby?

  • Finally, the test came back positive after after some health workers had already been infected.

  • Where exactly did I tell you I tested positive?

  • - All the tests were positive.

  • The test was positive for cancer, Ernest.

  • President Biden fully vaccinated, twice boosted, has tested positive for COVID.

  • Evelda Drumgo's HIV positive.

  • The doctor informed her that her test result was positive for the disease after the examination.

  • After the lab results were reviewed, it was confirmed that several patients tested positive for the virus.

  • His initial test came back positive, indicating that further treatment would be necessary.

Antonyms

negative
  • Specialized
156 3.7

Not showing a disease or condition in a test

61 2.3

Saying no or showing that something is not true

Compounds

A way of thinking that is hopeful and looks for solutions

A result that is good or wanted

positive energy
  • Informal
15 3.5

A hopeful, friendly feeling that makes people feel happy and active

Comments that praise or encourage someone's work

Clear proof that a person is who they say they are

positive feedback
  • Specialized
8 4.3

A process where a small change causes larger changes in a system

positive charge
  • Specialized
4 3.9

An electrical state when an object has fewer electrons than protons

When one thing goes up or down, the other goes the same way

Rh positive
  • Specialized
1 4.6

Having the Rh factor on the surface of red blood cells

An account that has more money in it than you have taken out

positive stimulus
  • Specialized
1 4.6

Something like praise or a reward that makes someone do something again

positive economics
  • Specialized
1 6.3

Part of economics that describes, explains, and predicts how the economy works without giving opinions

1 9.1

To hide facts or give false information on purpose to cheat someone

positive pole
  • Specialized
1 4.4

The end of a magnet that points north when the magnet hangs freely

positive reinforcer
  • Specialized
1 4.5

A thing given after a behavior that makes it more likely to happen again

positive pole
  • Specialized
1 3.5

A battery terminal marked with a plus sign that connects to the red wire

4.1

A blood group whose red blood cells have the Rh factor, common in most people

positive chemotaxis
  • Specialized
7.9

Movement of a cell toward a stronger chemical signal

positive adverb
  • Specialized
7.4

An adverb that shows a simple way something happens, not a comparison

positive degree
  • Specialized
5.7

The base form of an adjective or adverb that shows a quality without comparison

6.0

The end of a magnet that points toward the north when it hangs freely

positive muon
  • Specialized
9.9

A small particle with positive electric charge that turns into other tiny particles

Something pleasant that someone gives after a behavior to make it happen again

6.8

A word that shows how something is done without comparison

How Evident

conclusive
60 4.8
positive
  • Specialized
273 4.1
inconclusive
48 6.5
suspicious
261 2.7

Surface Forms

positive positive
better comparative
best superlative

Morphology

positive = posit (semi-transparent) = posit + ive

The adjective is formed by the productive suffix '-ive' from 'posit', but the specialised testing sense is an extended, domain-specific use not directly predictable from the verb 'posit'.

Etymology

Positive comes from an old Latin root posit- from ponere meaning 'to put' or 'place', with the idea of something being clearly shown or present. So a positive test result means the thing (like a disease or substance) is 'there' or has been detected.