positive

Good or helpful, or showing hope that things will go well.

• Try to stay positive.
• The changes had a positive effect.
• We received positive feedback from our customers.

How to use it: positive about something (She feels positive about the future.)

Similar words: good, favorable, optimistic

Opposites: negative

Common phrases: positive attitude, positive effect, positive change

Completely sure that something is true or correct.

• Are you positive?
• She was positive that she had seen him before.
• I am absolutely positive about the answer.

How to use it: positive that… (I am positive that I locked the door.); positive about something (Are you positive about the date?)

Similar words: sure, certain

Opposites: uncertain, unsure

Common phrases: absolutely positive, positive about something

Showing that a test found the substance or condition it was checking for.

• The test result was positive.
• She had a positive pregnancy test.
• Two samples tested positive for the same substance.

How to use it: test positive for something (The sample tested positive for the virus.)

Opposites: negative

Common phrases: positive result, positive test, test positive

Greater than zero.

• Five is a positive number.
• The answer should be positive.
• We only accept positive values in this box.

Opposites: negative

Common phrases: positive number, positive value, positive integer

Having the kind of electric charge carried by protons.

• Connect the red wire to the positive terminal.
• Protons carry a positive charge.
• The ion became positive after losing an electron.

Opposites: negative

Common phrases: positive charge, positive terminal, positive pole

Describing unusual experiences or behavior that appear with an illness, such as hearing voices that are not there.

• Hearing voices can be a positive symptom.
• The treatment reduced his positive symptoms.
• Doctors recorded both positive and negative symptoms during the assessment.

Opposites: negative

Common phrases: positive symptom, positive psychotic symptom

A good or useful part of a situation.

• The short journey is a positive.
• There are several positives to working from home.
• Let us focus on the positives for now.

Similar words: advantage, benefit, plus

Opposites: negative, drawback

Common phrases: a positive, major positive, look for positives