false positive

noun

Definition of false positive

: a result that shows something is present when it really is not

The test produced too many false positives to be reliable.

Word by Word Definitions

false play

: not genuine
: intentionally untrue
: adjusted or made so as to deceive

: in a false or faithless manner : treacherously

See the full definition of false

positive play

: formally laid down or imposed : prescribed
: expressed clearly or peremptorily
: fully assured : confident

: something positive: such as
: the positive degree of comparison in a language
: a positive form of an adjective or adverb

See the full definition of positive

Medical Dictionary

false-positive

adjective

variants: or false positive

medical Definition of false-positive

: relating to or being a test result or an individual that is erroneously classified in a positive category (as of diagnosis) because of imperfect testing methods or procedures

a false-positive pregnancy test

… one must bear in mind the cost of needless medical procedures generated by the huge number of false-positive mammograms …
—David Plotkin, The Atlantic Monthly, June 1996

— compare false-negative

—

false positive

noun

- Another problem with the test … is that it also produces a number of false positives; that is, a number of neonates with elevated trypsin levels the first time they are tested are found not to have elevated levels on the second test.
- —The Journal of the American Medical Association, 9 Nov. 1984