n.
Pronunciation: ' pä-z ə -ti- ˌ vi-z ə m, ' päz-ti-
Function: noun
Etymology: French positivisme, from positif positive + -isme -ism
Date: 1847
1 a : a theory that theology and metaphysics are earlier imperfect modes of knowledge and that positive knowledge is based on natural phenomena and their properties and relations as verified by the empirical sciences b : LOGICAL POSITIVISM
2 : the quality or state of being positive
– pos · i · tiv · ist \ -vist \ adjective or noun
– pos · i · tiv · is · tic \ ˌ pä-z ə -ti- ' vis-tik, ˌ päz-ti- \ adjective
– pos · i · tiv · is · ti · cal · ly \ -ti-k( ə -)l ē \ adverb