What does "positive" mean?
A thing capable of being affirmed; something real or actual.
Positive
/ˈpɑzɪtɪv/ adj, noun, slang
adj, noun, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A thing capable of being affirmed; something real or actual.
- Grammar: positive is listed as adj, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: absolute, absolute values, accented, accentuated.
- Useful contrasts: bad, nonpositive, adverse.
- Usage evidence: I am positive that he is wrong.
How to use "positive"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "positive" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "positive" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "positive" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "positive" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "positive" is acting as adj, noun, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "absolute" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "positive", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A thing capable of being affirmed; something real or actual.
"rating Positives by their Privatives"
- 2 a film showing a photographic image whose tones correspond to those of the original subject wordnet
- 3 A favourable point or characteristic.
- 4 the primary form of an adjective or adverb; denotes a quality without qualification, comparison, or relation to increase or diminution wordnet
- 5 Something having a positive value in physics, such as an electric charge.
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 A degree of comparison of adjectives and adverbs.
- 7 An adjective or adverb in the positive degree.
- 8 A positive image; one that displays true colors and shades, not their opposites or complements.
- 9 The positive plate of a voltaic or electrolytic cell.
- 10 A positive result of a test.
Adjective
- 1 Included, present, characterized by affirmation.
- 2 Formally laid down.
"In laws, that which is natural bindeth universally; that which is positive, not so."
- 3 Stated definitively and without qualification.
"Positive words, that he would not bear arms against King Edward’s son."
- 4 Fully assured in opinion.
"I’m absolutely positive you've spelt that wrong."
- 5 Greater than zero.
Show 19 more definitions
- 6 Greater than or equal to zero. sometimes
"Notice that each time the calculator balance becomes positive (zero or greater), the dollar item that forces this balance to become positive is selected for examination. Since each of these dollar items is contained […]"
- 7 Characterized by constructiveness or influence for the better.
"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?"
- 8 Overconfident, dogmatic.
"Some positive, persisting fops we know, That, if once wrong, will needs be always so."
- 9 Actual, real, concrete, not theoretical or speculative.
"[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."
- 10 Having more protons than electrons.
"A cation is a positive ion as it has more protons than electrons."
- 11 Describing the primary sense of an adjective, adverb or noun; not comparative, superlative, augmentative nor diminutive.
"‘Better’ is an irregular comparative of the positive form ‘good’."
- 12 Describing a verb that is not negated, especially in languages which have distinct positive and negative verb forms, e.g., Finnish.
- 13 Derived from an object by itself; not dependent on changing circumstances or relations.
"The idea of beauty is not positive, but depends on the different tastes of individuals."
- 14 Characterized by the existence or presence of distinguishing qualities or features, rather than by their absence.
"The box was not empty – I felt some positive substance within it."
- 15 Characterized by the presence of features which support a hypothesis.
"The results of our experiment are positive."
- 16 Confirmed, straight-up.
"Ben […], who seems at first to be a likable guy but is actually a positive sexist."
- 17 Of a visual image, true to the original in light, shade and colour values.
"A positive photograph can be developed from a photographic negative."
- 18 Favorable, desirable by those interested or invested in that which is being judged.
"The first-night reviews were largely positive."
- 19 Wholly what is expressed; colloquially downright, entire, outright.
"Good lord, you've built up a positive arsenal of weaponry here."
- 20 Optimistic.
"He has a positive outlook on life."
- 21 electropositive
- 22 basic; metallic; not acid; opposed to negative, and said of metals, bases, and basic radicals.
- 23 HIV positive. slang
"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."
- 24 Good, desirable, healthful, pleasant, enjoyable. New-Age, jargon
"positive energy; positive thoughts, feelings or emotions"
Adjective
- 1 involving advantage or good wordnet
- 2 persuaded of; very sure wordnet
- 3 marked by excessive confidence wordnet
- 4 having a positive charge wordnet
- 5 impossible to deny or disprove wordnet
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 formally laid down or imposed wordnet
- 7 characterized by or displaying affirmation or acceptance or certainty etc. wordnet
- 8 greater than zero wordnet
- 9 reckoned, situated or tending in the direction which naturally or arbitrarily is taken to indicate increase or progress or onward motion wordnet
- 10 indicating existence or presence of a suspected condition or pathogen wordnet
- 11 of or relating to positivism wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"I am positive that he is wrong."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "positive"?
Common synonyms include: absolute, absolute values, accented, accentuated, accordant, actual.
How do you use "positive" in a sentence?
I am positive that he is wrong.
How do you pronounce "positive"?
Pronounced /ˈpɑzɪtɪv/.
Etymology
From Old French positif, from Latin positivus, from the past participle stem of ponere (“to place”). Compare posit.