All 3 Uses of
positive
in
Childhood's End
- He would evade awkward queries in a manner that was a pleasure to behold, and then, quite unexpectedly, would become positively confiding.†
Chpt 17 *positively = with certainty
- At the worst, Stormgren did not see that any positive harm could be done.†
Chpt 2
- The Overlords had imposed few positive bans on any form of human activity (the conduct of war was perhaps the major exception), but research into space flight had virtually ceased.†
Chpt 8
Definitions:
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(1)
(positive as in: I'm absolutely positive!) certain (having no doubt; or used for emphasis)
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(2)
(positive as in: had a positive effect) good or beneficial
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(3)
(positive as in: positive feedback from my boss) approval or agreement
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(4)
(positive as in: a positive attitude) optimistic (expecting or focusing good things); or agreeable
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(5)
(positive as in: The test came back positive.) found a condition or substance to be present
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(6)
(positive as in: a positive number) greater than zero (of a number)
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(7)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) See a comprehensive dictionary for less common meanings of positive including some in the fields of electricity, physics, chemistry, medicine, philosophy, and grammar. Note that most all senses of positive indicate that something is good or present.