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positive

positive

1 7.6
A photograph or print that shows the original light and dark areas
  • noun
  • /ˈpɑːzɪtɪv/
: positivo
  • The positive was so familiar that, like the harp, it came to symbolize music itself.

Examples

  • Looking back at the positives from our wedding, we cherish those joyful memories.

  • The photographer organized his collection, ensuring each positive was properly labeled.

  • Reviewers should note the positives indicated by the data as well as areas needing improvement.

    Academic text (2013)
  • The results of anti-doping tests containing the steroid positive arrived shortly after the two-week Olympic Games concluded.

    Blog text (1)
  • I found several beautiful positives from my trip to the mountains last summer.

Antonyms

negative
  • Specialized
34 5.8

A piece of film with reversed colors for making prints

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

Surface Forms

positive singular
positives plural

Etymology

Positive for a photograph comes from the Latin root posit- from ponere 'to put', used for an image that is 'placed' to match the original light and dark. So a photographic positive is a print where the tones look the same as the real scene.