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false positive

noun
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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.

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“False positive.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/false%20positive. Accessed 23 January 2020.

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More Definitions for false positive

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

Other Words from false positive

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

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