Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Relying on or derived from observation or experiment: empirical results that supported the hypothesis.
- adj. Verifiable or provable by means of observation or experiment: empirical laws.
- adj. Guided by practical experience and not theory, especially in medicine.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Pertaining to or derived from experience or experiments; depending upon or derived from the observation of phenomena.
- as a general proposition, from a narrow range of observation, without any warrant for its exactitude or for its wider validity.
- Pertaining to the medical practice of an empiric, in either of the medical senses of that word; hence, charlatanical; quackish.
Wiktionary
- adj. Pertaining to or based on experience.
- adj. Pertaining to, derived from, or testable by observations made using the physical senses or using instruments which extend the senses.
- adj. philosophy of science Verifiable by means of scientific experimentation.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. relying on medical quackery
- adj. derived from experiment and observation rather than theory
Etymologies
- From empiric + -al. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“To all knowledge obtained through the observation of facts and phenomena, the term empirical is properly applied.”
“Do you consider this a valid example of what you call empirical evidence?”
“This is what we call empirical information, on the ground.”
“This is what we call empirical information on the ground.”
“The definition of "empirical" is that which is directly observed or perceived through our sensory equipment.”
“What he didn't say: "The Tealiban/Teatards are bringing such wonderful, fact-based rational analyses and substantive arguments steeped in empirical evidence to the table, that we just can't help but consider everything they have to say and allow it to influence our decision-making.”
“It is true that religions are not belief systems grounded in empirical results.”
“Unfortunately, these unrealistic assumptions not only are used in empirical models, but also get into the mental models of policy makers.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Further to Andrew Ferguson on Behavioral Economics
“David Card and Alan Krueger have done lots of work in empirical labor economics based on natural experiment methodology.”
“Aaron, it is always worth noting that one is more likely to hear a point of view rooted in empirical thinking, regarding baseball player performance, at closing time in a saloon, than one is likely to hear an opinion regarding economics or politics, that is similarly rooted in empirical thinking, among supposedly sober pundits on the internet or cable t.v..”
Matthew Yglesias » The Soon-to-Change Unemployment Narrative
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘empirical’.
-
Test Prep or Just for fun
Building a list for standardized test prep or just for learning some new words! Please add any words that you feel are important for the SAT/GRE/GMAT etc...
throng, morass, parley, facile, kismet, strife, jetsam, carrion, annex, harbinger, vestige, surreptitious and 575 more...
-
GRE 2014
abate, abdicate, abase, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
-
GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
-
EN - academic vocabulary
Use these and get promoted
abandon, abandonment, abnormally, abstract, abstraction, abstractly, abstracts, academia, academic, academically, academics, academies and 3119 more...
-
501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
-
GRE Barron's 800
abate, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abject, abjure, abscission, abscond, abstemious, abstinence, abysmal, accretion and 787 more...
-
501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
-
501
Classic
irk, teem, blight, pith, moot, mete, ire, bane, bilk, boor, elan, ado and 401 more...
-
501
Classic
bane, bilk, boor, elan, ado, toil, onus, aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august and 401 more...
-
cicatrix
scar tissue
minatory, naira, Cluniac, embracive, prolix, hierophant, timorous, adduce, veracious, dysphoric, sang-froid, vitiate and 503 more...
-
SCIE - publications
The vocabulary of scientific paper submission
italicise, reference, ISBN, square bracket, running head, printing process, peer review, ASL, retrievable, lexical, publishable, et alia and 188 more...
-
method
( investigation, randomness )
empirical, evidence, measurable, specific, quantifiable, principle, tact, foo, betwixt, axiom, maxim, uncertainty and 9 more...
-
Vocabulary
shibboleth, verboten, jejune, ostensible, multifarious, quintessence, purportedly, tangential, vacillate, quagmire, wanton, onerous and 74 more...
-
February 2012
filiopietistic, bifurcate, enclave, wedlock, decadent, unduly, defunct, lapel, tumescent, capitulation, leaden, scintilla and 83 more...
-
Go over
mollify, obstinate, obviate, occlude, onerous, obscure, paragon, pedantic, perfunctory, placate, placid, prodigal and 364 more...
-
A Refined Lexicon
ambivalence, ambivalent, equivocal, equivocation, equivocate, prevaricate, prevarication, quietude, quiescent, quiescence, vanquish, pluviosity and 137 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for empirical.
kingparton Knowledge by revelation is more like empirical than rational knowledge.
C.S. Lewis, "Bulverism" Nov 23, 2011