positive

Etymology

From Old French positif, from Latin positivus, from the past participle stem of ponere (“to place”). Compare posit.

adj

1. Not negative or neutral.
2. (law) Formally laid down.
   In laws, that which is natural bindeth universally; that which is positive, not so. 1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie
3. Stated definitively and without qualification.
4. Fully assured in opinion.
   I’m absolutely positive you've spelt that wrong.
5. (mathematics) Of number, greater than zero.
6. Characterized by constructiveness or influence for the better.
7. Overconfident, dogmatic.
8. (chiefly philosophy) Actual, real, concrete, not theoretical or speculative.
   1885, Marcellin Berthelot, Les Origines de l'Alkimie as quoted in M. M. Pattison Muir, A History of Chemical Theories and Laws, 1907. Chemistry is not a primitive science, like geometry or astronomy; it is constructed from the debris of a previous scientific formation; a formation half chimerical and half positive...
9. (physics) Having more protons than electrons.
   A cation is a positive ion as it has more protons than electrons.
10. (grammar) 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’.
11. (grammar) Describing a verb that is not negated, especially in languages which have distinct positive and negative verb forms, e.g., Finnish.
12. 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.
    positive knowledge
13. 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.
14. Characterized by the presence of features which support a hypothesis.
    The results of our experiment are positive.
15. (photography) Of a visual image, true to the original in light, shade and colour values.
    A positive photograph can be developed from a photographic negative.
16. Favorable, desirable by those interested or invested in that which is being judged.
    The first-night reviews were largely positive.
17. Wholly what is expressed; colloquially downright, entire, outright.
    Good lord, you've built up a positive arsenal of weaponry here.
18. Optimistic.
    He has a positive outlook on life.
19. (chemistry) electropositive
20. (chemistry) basic; metallic; not acid; opposed to negative, and said of metals, bases, and basic radicals.
21. (slang) HIV positive.
    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. quoted in 2013, William I. Johnston, HIV-Negative: How the Uninfected Are Affected by AIDS (page 145)
22. (New Age jargon) Good, desirable, healthful, pleasant, enjoyable; (often precedes 'energy', 'thought', 'feeling' or 'emotion').
    Negative feelings can be worked through and their energy converted into positive energy... In crisis, normal patterns of self-organization fail, resulting in anxiety (negative energy). Being open systems, people can exchange this energy with the environment and create positive energy for taking action... 2009, Christopher Johns, Becoming a Reflective Practitioner, John Wiley & Sons, page 15

noun

1. A thing capable of being affirmed; something real or actual.
2. A favourable point or characteristic.
3. Something having a positive value in physics, such as an electric charge.
4. (grammar) A degree of comparison of adjectives and adverbs.
5. (grammar) An adjective or adverb in the positive degree.
6. (photography) A positive image; one that displays true colors and shades, as opposed to a negative.
7. The positive plate of a voltaic or electrolytic cell.
8. A positive result of a test.