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.

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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

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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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