Positive

6 definitions found

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

  Positive \Pos"i*tive\, a. [OE. positif, F. positif, L.
     positivus. See {Position}.]
     1. Having a real position, existence, or energy; existing in
        fact; real; actual; -- opposed to negative. "Positive
        good." --Bacon.
        [1913 Webster]


  
     2. Derived from an object by itself; not dependent on
        changing circumstances or relations; absolute; -- opposed
        to relative; as, the idea of beauty is not positive, but
        depends on the different tastes individuals.
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     3. Definitely laid down; explicitly stated; clearly
        expressed; -- opposed to implied; as, a positive
        declaration or promise.
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              Positive words, that he would not bear arms against
              King Edward's son.                    --Bacon.
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     4. Hence: Not admitting of any doubt, condition,
        qualification, or discretion; not dependent on
        circumstances or probabilities; not speculative;
        compelling assent or obedience; peremptory; indisputable;
        decisive; as, positive instructions; positive truth;
        positive proof. "'T is positive 'gainst all exceptions."
        --Shak.
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     5. Prescribed by express enactment or institution; settled by
        arbitrary appointment; said of laws.
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              In laws, that which is natural bindeth universally;
              that which is positive, not so.       --Hooker.
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     6. Fully assured; confident; certain; sometimes,
        overconfident; dogmatic; overbearing; -- said of persons.
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              Some positive, persisting fops we know,
              That, if once wrong, will needs be always. --Pope.
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     7. Having the power of direct action or influence; as, a
        positive voice in legislation. --Swift.
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     8. (Photog.) Corresponding with the original in respect to
        the position of lights and shades, instead of having the
        lights and shades reversed; as, a positive picture.
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     9. (Chem.)
        (a) Electro-positive.
        (b) Hence, basic; metallic; not acid; -- opposed to
            {negative}, and said of metals, bases, and basic
            radicals.
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     10. (Mach. & Mech.)
         (a) Designating, or pertaining to, a motion or device in
             which the movement derived from a driver, or the grip
             or hold of a restraining piece, is communicated
             through an unyielding intermediate piece or pieces;
             as, a claw clutch is a positive clutch, while a
             friction clutch is not.
         (b) Designating, or pertaining to, a device giving a
             to-and-fro motion; as, a positive dobby.
             [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
  
     11. (Vehicles) Designating a method of steering or turning in
         which the steering wheels move so that they describe
         concentric arcs in making a turn, to insure freedom from
         side slip or harmful resistance.
         [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
  
     {Positive crystals} (Opt.), a doubly refracting crystal in
        which the index of refraction for the extraordinary ray is
        greater than for the ordinary ray, and the former is
        refracted nearer to the axis than the latter, as quartz
        and ice; -- opposed to negative crystal, or one in which
        this characteristic is reversed, as Iceland spar,
        tourmaline, etc.
  
     {Positive degree} (Gram.), that state of an adjective or
        adverb which denotes simple quality, without comparison or
        relation to increase or diminution; as, wise, noble.
  
     {Positive electricity} (Elec), the kind of electricity which
        is developed when glass is rubbed with silk, or which
        appears at that pole of a voltaic battery attached to the
        plate that is not attacked by the exciting liquid; --
        formerly called {vitreous electricity}; -- opposed to
        {negative electricity}.
  
     {Positive eyepiece}. See under {Eyepiece}.
  
     {Positive law}. See {Municipal law}, under {Law}.
  
     {Positive motion} (Mach.), motion which is derived from a
        driver through unyielding intermediate pieces, or by
        direct contact, and not through elastic connections, nor
        by means of friction, gravity, etc.; definite motion.
  
     {Positive philosophy}. See {Positivism}.
  
     {Positive pole}.
         (a) (Elec.) The pole of a battery or pile which yields
             positive or vitreous electricity; -- opposed to
             {negative pole}.
         (b) (Magnetism) The north pole. [R.]
  
     {Positive quantity} (Alg.), an affirmative quantity, or one
        affected by the sign plus [+].
  
     {Positive rotation} (Mech.), left-handed rotation.
  
     {Positive sign} (Math.), the sign [+] denoting plus, or more,
        or addition.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Positive \Pos"i*tive\, n.
     1. That which is capable of being affirmed; reality. --South.
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     2. That which settles by absolute appointment.
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     3. (Gram.) The positive degree or form.
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     4. (Photog.) A picture in which the lights and shades
        correspond in position with those of the original, instead
        of being reversed, as in a negative. --R. Hunt.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. (Elec.) The positive plate of a voltaic or electrolytic
        cell.
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From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  positive
       adj 1: characterized by or displaying affirmation or acceptance or
              certainty etc.; "a positive attitude"; "the reviews
              were all positive"; "a positive benefit"; "a positive
              demand" [ant: {negative}, {neutral}]
       2: having a positive electric charge; "protons are positive"
          [syn: {electropositive}] [ant: {negative}, {neutral}]
       3: involving advantage or good; "a plus (or positive) factor"
          [syn: {plus}]
       4: indicating existence or presence of a suspected condition or
          pathogen; "a positive pregnancy test" [syn: {confirming}]
          [ant: {negative}]
       5: formally laid down or imposed; "positive laws" [syn: {prescribed}]
       6: impossible to deny or disprove; "incontrovertible proof of
          the defendant's innocence"; "proof positive"; "an
          irrefutable argument" [syn: {incontrovertible}, {irrefutable}]
       7: of or relating to positivism; "positivist thinkers";
          "positivist doctrine"; "positive philosophy" [syn: {positivist},
           {positivistic}]
       8: greater than zero; "positive numbers"
       9: marked by excessive confidence; "an arrogant and cocksure
          materialist"; "so overconfident and impudent as to speak
          to the queen"; "the less he knows the more positive he
          gets" [syn: {cocksure}, {overconfident}]
       10: persuaded of; very sure; "were convinced that it would be to
           their advantage to join"; "I am positive he is lying";
           "was confident he would win" [syn: {convinced(p)}, {positive(p)},
            {confident(p)}]
       11: granting what has been desired or requested; "a favorable
           reply"; "a positive answer" [syn: {favorable}]
       n : a film showing a photographic image whose tones correspond
           to those of the original subject

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

  371 Moby Thesaurus words for "positive":
     Ditto copy, Photostat, Xerox, Xerox copy, absolute, accented,
     accentuated, accordant, actual, admitting no exception,
     affirmative, affirmatory, agreeable, agreeing, aidful, algorismic,
     algorithmic, aliquot, all-out, answerable, apodictic, arbitrary,
     arrant, arrogant, assertative, assertional, assertive, assured,
     at one, auspicious, authentic, believing, beneficial, bigoted,
     blind, blowup, blueprint, bound, cardinal, categorical, certain,
     cheerful, classical, clear, clear and distinct, clear as day,
     clear-cut, cocksure, coexistent, coexisting, coherent, coincident,
     coinciding, commensurate, compatible, complete, complimentary,
     conceited, conclusive, concordant, concurring, conducive,
     confident, confirming, conformable, congenial, congruent,
     congruous, consentaneous, consentient, consistent, consonant,
     constructive, consummate, contact print, contact printing,
     contributory, convinced, convincing, cooperating, cooperative,
     correspondent, corresponding, crass, cyanotype, de facto, deaf,
     decided, decimal, decisive, declarative, declaratory, definite,
     definitive, despotic, determinate, determined, devout, dictatorial,
     differential, digital, doctrinaire, doctrinarian, dogmatic,
     dogmatizing, doubtless, downright, egregious, emphasized, emphatic,
     en rapport, encouraging, energetic, enlargement, enthusiastic,
     entire, equivalent, even, explicit, exponential, express, factual,
     faithful, favorable, fideistic, figural, figurate, figurative,
     final, finite, firm, fixed, flagrant, flat, flat-out, for real,
     forceful, forcible, fractional, functional, furthersome, genuine,
     glaring, global, glossy, good for, gross, hard, hard-nosed,
     harmonious, hectograph copy, helpful, historical, hologram,
     honest-to-God, hubristic, imaginary, impair, imperious, implicit,
     impossible, impress, impressed with, impression, in accord,
     in agreement, in rapport, in red letters, in sync,
     in synchronization, inaccordance, inappealable, incontestable,
     incontrovertible, indisputable, indubitable, ineluctable,
     inevitable, infinite, inharmony, integral, intolerable, irrational,
     irrefutable, italicized, lantern slide, like-minded, logarithmic,
     logometric, matte, matter-of-fact, microcopy, microprint,
     mimeograph copy, minus, necessary, negative, numeral, numerary,
     numerative, numeric, obdurate, obstinate, odd, of a piece,
     of like mind, of one mind, offprint, on all fours, opinionated,
     opinionative, opinioned, optimistic, oracular, ordinal,
     out-and-out, outright, overconfident, oversure, overweening, pair,
     peremptory, perfect, perfectly sure, persuaded, persuasive,
     photocopy, photograph, photogravure, photostatic copy, pietistic,
     pigheaded, pious, pistic, plus, pointed, poised, pompous,
     pontifical, positivistic, possible, practical, pragmatical,
     precious, predestined, predetermined, predicational, predicative,
     prime, print, productive, profitable, profound,
     projection printing, promising, pronounced, pronunciative, proof,
     proper, propitious, proportionate, proud, punctuated, radical,
     rank, rational, real, realistic, reasonable, reassured, reassuring,
     reciprocal, reconcilable, regular, reliable, remedial, reprint,
     round, salutary, satisfied, secure, self-assured, self-confident,
     self-consistent, self-important, self-opinionated, self-opinioned,
     self-reliant, semi-matte, serviceable, shattering, sheer, shocking,
     slide, sold on, sound, specific, stark, stark-staring, starred,
     stat, straight, straight-out, stressed, stubborn, submultiple,
     substantial, superlative, supportive, surd, sure, sure-enough,
     surpassing, symbiotic, synchronized, synchronous, the veriest,
     therapeutic, thorough, thoroughgoing, total, transcendental,
     transparency, true, unafraid, unambiguous, unanimous, unbearable,
     uncircumscribed, unconditional, unconditioned, unconscionable,
     uncontestable, uncontested, undeniable, under the impression,
     underlined, underscored, undoubtful, undoubting, unequivocal,
     unfaltering, unhampered, unhesitating, uniform, unisonant,
     unisonous, univocal, unlimited, unmistakable, unmitigated,
     unpersuadable, unqualified, unquestionable, unquestioned,
     unquestioning, unrelieved, unreserved, unrestricted, unspoiled,
     unwaivable, unwavering, upbeat, useful, utilitarian, utter,
     veritable, whole, without exception, without reserve, yes
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  POSITIVE. Express; absolute; not doubtful. This word is frequently used in 
  composition. 
       2. A positive condition is where the thing which is the subject of it 
  must happen; as, if I marry. It is opposed to a negative condition, which is 
  where the thing which is the subject of it must not happen; as, if I do not 
  marry. 
       3. A positive fraud is the intentional and successful employment of any 
  cunning, deception or artifice, to circumvent, cheat, or deceive another. 1 
  Story, Eq. Sec. 186; Dig. 4, 3, 1, 2; Dig. 2, 14, 7, 9. It is cited in 
  opposition to constructive fraud. (q.v.) 
       4. Positive evidence is that which, if believed, establishes the truth 
  or falsehood of a fact in issue, and does not arise from any presumption. It 
  is distinguished from circumstantial evidence. 3 Bouv. Inst. n. 3057. 
  
  

From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:

  POSITIVE, adj.  Mistaken at the top of one's voice.