Standard Lemma guide

positivity

noun · 8 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: pŏz'ĭtĭvʹĭti
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌpɒz.ɪˈtɪv.ɪ.ti/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: pŏ'zĭtĭvʹĭti
  • General-American: /ˌpɑ.zɪˈtɪv.ɪ.ti/
  • General-American: [ˌpɑ.zɪˈtɪv.ɪ.ɾi]
  • Australian: /ˌpɔz.ɪˈtɪv.ɪ.ti/
  • Australian: [ˌpɔz.ɪˈtɪv.ɪ.ɾi]

1

noun

Meaning 1

The condition of being positive (in all senses); positivism; optimism.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The result of being positive.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The characteristic of possessing a positive electric charge.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: chemistry, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, physics

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

the quality of being undeniable and not worth arguing about

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: incontrovertibility, incontrovertibleness, positiveness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: indisputability, indubitability, unquestionability, unquestionableness

5

noun

Meaning 5

an amount greater than zero

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: positiveness

Antonyms: negativity

Broader terms: amount

6

noun

Meaning 6

the quality of being encouraging or promising of a successful outcome

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: favorableness, favourableness, advantageousness, positiveness, profitableness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: advantage, vantage

Narrower terms: auspiciousness, propitiousness

7

noun

Meaning 7

a quality or state characterized by certainty or acceptance or affirmation and dogmatic assertiveness

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: positiveness, positivism

Antonyms: negativity

Broader terms: quality

Narrower terms: assertiveness, self-assertiveness

8

noun

Meaning 8

the character of the positive electric pole

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: positiveness

Antonyms: negativity

Broader terms: polarity, sign

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English positive Proto-Indo-European *-teh2 Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh2ts Latin -itāsder. Old French -itebor. Middle English -ite English -ity English positivity From positive + -ity.

Across languages

Translations

20 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: positivitat — condition of being positive
  • Finnish: positiivisuus — condition of being positive
  • Finnish: myönteisyys — condition of being positive
  • Finnish: optimismi — condition of being positive
  • Finnish: varmuus — condition of being positive
  • French: positivité — condition of being positive
  • German: Positivismus (phil.) — condition of being positive
  • German: Zuversichtlichkeit — condition of being positive
  • Italian: positività — condition of being positive
  • Malay: kepositifan — condition of being positive
  • Māori: ngākaupaitanga — condition of being positive
  • Portuguese: positividade — condition of being positive
  • Romanian: pozitivitate — condition of being positive
  • Russian: позити́вность (pozitívnostʹ) — condition of being positive
  • Slovak: pozitívnosť — condition of being positive
  • Spanish: positividad — condition of being positive
  • Finnish: positiivisuus — the characteristic of possessing a positive electric charge
  • German: Elektropositivität — the characteristic of possessing a positive electric charge
  • Māori: tōrungatanga — the characteristic of possessing a positive electric charge
  • Russian: положи́тельность (položítelʹnostʹ) — the characteristic of possessing a positive electric charge