Empirical

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Empiric \Em*pir"ic\, Empirical \Em*pir"ic*al\, a.
     1. Pertaining to, or founded upon, experiment or experience;
        depending upon the observation of phenomena; versed in
        experiments.
        [1913 Webster]
  


              In philosophical language, the term empirical means
              simply what belongs to or is the product of
              experience or observation.            --Sir W.
                                                    Hamilton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The village carpenter . . . lays out his work by
              empirical rules learnt in his apprenticeship. --H.
                                                    Spencer.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Depending upon experience or observation alone, without
        due regard to science and theory; -- said especially of
        medical practice, remedies, etc.; wanting in science and
        deep insight; as, empiric skill, remedies.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {Empirical formula}. (Chem.) See under {Formula}.
  
     Syn: See {Transcendental}.
          [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  empirical
       adj 1: derived from experiment and observation rather than theory;
              "an empirical basis for an ethical theory"; "empirical
              laws"; "empirical data"; "an empirical treatment of a
              disease about which little is known" [syn: {empiric}]
              [ant: {theoretical}]
       2: relying on medical quackery; "empiric treatment" [syn: {empiric}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  65 Moby Thesaurus words for "empirical":
     Cyrenaic, Eleatic, Epicurean, Megarian, Stoic, animist, animistic,
     atomistic, cosmotheistic, cut-and-try, eclectic, eudaemonistic,
     existential, experiential, experimental, factual, hedonic,
     hedonist, hedonistic, heuristic, hit-or-miss, humanist, humanistic,
     idealistic, instrumentalist, materialistic, mechanistic,
     metaphysical, monistic, naturalistic, nominalist, observed,
     panlogistical, pantheistic, pilot, positivist, positivistic,
     practical, pragmatic, pragmatist, probationary, probative,
     probatory, proving, provisional, rationalistic, realist, realistic,
     scholastic, sensationalistic, syncretistic, tentative, test,
     testing, theistic, transcendentalist, transcendentalistic, trial,
     trial-and-error, trying, utilitarian, verificatory, vitalistic,
     voluntarist, voluntaristic