empirical

em·pir·i·cal

adj \im-ˈpir-i-kəl\

Definition of EMPIRICAL

1

: originating in or based on observation or experience <empirical data>

2

: relying on experience or observation alone often without due regard for system and theory <an empirical basis for the theory>

3

: capable of being verified or disproved by observation or experiment <empirical laws>

4

: of or relating to empiricism

— em·pir·i·cal·ly \-i-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

Variants of EMPIRICAL

em·pir·i·cal also em·pir·ic \-ik\

Examples of EMPIRICAL

1. They collected plenty of empirical data from their experiments.
2. <guidelines for raising children that are based on empirical evidence>
3. Eventually, access to electron microscopes and X-ray diffraction technology provided the necessary empirical evidence to test the hypotheses, and the jigsaw pieces began to fall into place. —Gail Nichols, Ceramics Monthly, February 2002
4. No religion, new or old, is subject to empirical proof, so what we have is a contest between faiths. —Harvey Cox, Atlantic, March 1999

Origin of EMPIRICAL

(see empiric)

First Known Use: 1569

Related to EMPIRICAL

Synonyms: existential, experiential, experimental, objective, observational

Antonyms: nonempirical, theoretical (also theoretic), unempirical

Related Words: actual, factual, genuine, hard, material, real; accepted, established, tried, tried-and-true; indisputable, undeniable; demonstrable, provable, verifiable

Near Antonyms: conjectural, hypothetical, speculative; unproven, unsubstantiated; metaphysical, transcendentalist, visionary

see all synonyms and antonyms

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