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Glite Dictionary
positive correlation

positive correlation

1 3.6
When one thing goes up or down, the other goes the same way
  • noun
  • /ˈpɒzɪtɪv ˌkɔːrəˈleɪʃən/
translation icon : correlación positiva
  • There is a clear positive correlation between hours spent studying and exam scores.
  • a significant positive correlation
  • a strong positive correlation
  • find a positive correlation

Examples

  • The research showed a positive correlation between regular exercise and improved mental health.

  • The analysis revealed a positive correlation between increased sales and customer satisfaction.

  • So basically no evidence of a positive correlation between income and the gender ratio.

  • There is a direct positive correlation between learning and the individual's involvement in the process.

    Academic text (1993)

  • The results of the present study show a positive correlation between water intake and feed intake.

    Academic text (2015)

  • Results show a positive correlation between the explicit and implicit measures.

    Academic text (2008)

  • The second strongest positive correlation existed between research anxiety and research task difficulty in this study.

    Academic text (2008)

  • Overall, the strongest positive correlation existed between research interest and usefulness, supporting a common observation about human attitudes.

    Academic text (2008)

  • We found a positive correlation between strains with superior spreading capacity and their relative immunogenicity.

    Academic text (2013)

  • There was a positive correlation between concentrate level and all faecal particle proportions (Table 2).

    Academic text (2015)

Synonyms

direct correlation
vspositive correlation
  • Specialized
5 4.2

A relationship where two things increase or decrease together

is the general description without the numeric coefficient detail

Antonyms

negative correlation
  • Specialized
1 4.6

A connection between two things where one goes up as the other goes down

How Strong

positive correlation
1 3.6
nonassociation
  • Specialized
8.8

Surface Forms

positive correlation singular
positive correlations plural

Morphology

positive + correlation

The meaning (a relationship where two variables move in the same direction) is directly composed from 'correlation' (a connection between changes) modified by 'positive' (indicating same-direction/upward association). This adjective+noun composition is cross-linguistically common and follows regular semantics, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Positive correlation combines positive and correlation; imagine two friends walking up and down a hill together, so when one goes up the hill the other goes up and when one goes down the other goes down. So, a 'positive correlation' means the two things tend to 'increase' or 'decrease' together.