All 9 Uses of

positive

in

The Poisonwood Bible

He views Leah's bow and arrows as a positive development in our household after so many other discouraging ones, such as the death, for all practical purposes, of Ruth May.
Chpt 3 *

positive = good

He positively snorted at that.
Chpt 3

positively = absolutely (used for emphasis)

The minute I stood up on the riverbank I got covered with them again, positively crawling.
Chpt 3

You could hear it all sizzling and crispy and juicy, and I have to confess when dinnertime came I did eat a few small bites, but only because I was positively weak with hunger.
Chpt 4

He was positive he was doomed, and there was just no reasoning with him.
Chpt 4

positive = certain

Especially Robine, who is Catholic and from Paris, France, and will positively not eat dessert with the same fork she used at dinner.
Chpt 5

positively = absolutely (used for emphasis)

I can tell you with absolute positivity that I am soon going to be Mrs. Daniel Attaché-to-the-Ambassador DuPrée.
Chpt 5 *

positivity = certainty

We argued about positively everything: even communism!
Chpt 5

positively = absolutely (used for emphasis)

Definitions:

(1) (positive as in: I'm absolutely positive!)
certain (having no doubt; or used for emphasis)
(2) (positive as in: had a positive effect)
good or beneficial
(3) (positive as in: positive feedback from my boss)
approval or agreement
(4) (positive as in: a positive attitude)
optimistic (expecting or focusing good things); or agreeable
(5) (positive as in: The test came back positive.)
found a condition or substance to be present
(6) (positive as in: a positive number)
greater than zero (of a number)
(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.