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View synonyms for empirical

empirical

[ em-pir-i-kuhl ]

adjective

  1. derived from or guided by direct experience or by experiment, rather than abstract principles or theory:

    Empirical evidence of changes in kelp consumption was gathered by measuring the bite marks in seaweed fronds.

    Synonyms: pragmatic, firsthand, practical

    Antonyms: theoretical, secondhand

  2. depending upon experience or observation alone, without using scientific method or theory, and hence sometimes insufficiently authoritative, especially as in medicine:

    That is nothing but an empirical conclusion with no regard for the laws of thermodynamics.

    Synonyms: pragmatic, firsthand, practical

    Antonyms: theoretical, secondhand

  3. provable or verifiable by experience or experiment, as scientific laws:

    Theoretical physics is criticized for producing complex concepts that are mathematical, not empirical.



empirical

/ ɛmˈpɪrɪkəl /

adjective

  1. derived from or relating to experiment and observation rather than theory
  2. (of medical treatment) based on practical experience rather than scientific proof
  3. philosophy
    1. (of knowledge) derived from experience rather than by logic from first principles Compare a priori a posteriori
    2. (of a proposition) subject, at least theoretically, to verification Compare analytic synthetic
  4. of or relating to medical quackery
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


noun

  1. statistics the posterior probability of an event derived on the basis of its observed frequency in a sample Compare mathematical probability See also posterior probability
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

empirical

/ ĕm-pîrĭ-kəl /

  1. Relying on or derived from observation or experiment.


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Derived Forms

  • emˈpiricalness, noun
  • emˈpirically, adverb
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Other Words From

  • em·pir·i·cal·ly adverb
  • em·pir·i·cal·ness noun
  • an·ti·em·pir·i·cal adjective
  • non·em·pir·i·cal adjective
  • o·ver·em·pir·i·cal adjective
  • sem·i·em·pir·i·cal adjective
  • un·em·pir·i·cal adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of empirical1

First recorded in 1560–70; empiric + -al 1
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Compare Meanings

How does empirical compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

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Example Sentences

Scientific history also shows that as empirical knowledge increases, we tend to converge on a shared explanation.

As a philosopher who focuses on the study of animal cognition, I examine both empirical and theoretical work to answer these types of questions.

According to Raposo, it “called the attention of many scientists working in the area to the use of more powerful and modern statistical techniques of empirical data analysis of animal movement.”

For economists who already felt confident in the theoretical arguments against rent control, research like Diamond’s provides empirical evidence that essentially tells the same story.

So Bob, you and your fellow C-POST researchers try to use empirical means, data analysis — when available — to understand foreign policy.

How do archaeologists wrap an empirical mind around capturing history?

Overall, the weight of the empirical evidence supports these essentially conservative arguments for the minimum wage.

In all, Schwitzgebel thinks that this study has been an important step forward in empirical research of morality.

There is little empirical data on how an early marriage affects young men.

No empirical data support his claim that the birth of a baby with Down syndrome makes the world—or the baby—unhappier.

It is at best an empirical test and must be interpreted in the light of clinical symptoms.

So long as bridge building was an empirical art, great waste of material was unavoidable.

The margin of uncertainty which must be met by empirical allowances on the side of safety has been steadily diminished.

Waddell (De Pontibus) gives the following convenient empirical relations.

Nor do I think they would have learnt much of the art from Mr. Bradlaugh, except in an empirical way.

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empiricempirical formula