empirical

adjective

em·pir·i·cal im-ˈpir-i-kəl

em-

variants or less commonly empiric

im-ˈpir-ik

em-

Synonyms of empirical next

: originating in or based on observation or experience

empirical data

: relying on experience or observation alone often without due regard for system and theory

an empirical basis for the theory

: capable of being verified or disproved by observation or experiment

empirical laws

: of or relating to empiricism

Did you know?

Empirical Has Roots in Latin and Greek

When empirical first appeared as an adjective in English, it meant simply "in the manner of an empiric." An empiric was a member of an ancient sect of doctors who practiced medicine based exclusively on observation or experience as contrasted with those who relied on theory or philosophy. The name empiric derives from Latin empīricus, itself from Greek empeirikós, meaning "based on observation (of medical treatment), experienced." The root of the Greek word (-peiros) is a derivative of peîra, meaning "attempt, trial, test."

Example Sentences

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

No religion, new or old, is subject to empirical proof, so what we have is a contest between faiths. —

Harvey Cox, Atlantic, March 1999

They collected plenty of empirical data from their experiments. guidelines for raising children that are based on empirical evidence

Recent Examples on the Web For two centuries it’s been based solidly on empirical realities. —

Richard Vedder, WSJ, 19 Aug. 2022 My primary focus though was on the empirical reality of variation, which people utilizing personal genomic services will receive, perhaps to their surprise. —

Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 21 Oct. 2013 The research is providing empirical evidence for the seminal work done by legal scholars Dorothy Brown, Beverly Moran and William Whitford, which raised the likelihood of racial inequities in the tax code. —

Jeanne Sahadi, CNN, 20 Feb. 2023 Recommendations will be offered based on the empirical evidence. —

Adam Sabes, Fox News, 10 Feb. 2023 But there is some initial empirical evidence to suggest that people would be receptive. —

John Danaher, WIRED, 2 Feb. 2023 There’s little empirical evidence to suggest that Sri Lanka’s shiny new IMF program will be any more successful than the past ones. —

Caleb Hofmann, National Review, 18 Jan. 2023 Arecibo helped researchers uncover the 33-second periodicity of the Crab Pulsar, which provided physicists with their first solid empirical evidence of the existence of neutron stars. —

Ben Evans, Discover Magazine, 5 Dec. 2022 Yet Sheldrake remains hopeful that, with more time and research, this kind of biodata sonification can one day become reliable enough for empirical application. —

Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2023 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'empirical.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

empiric "of physicians in ancient Greece and Rome holding that treatment should be based on observation rather than theory" (going back to Middle English emperic, borrowed from early Medieval Latin empīricus, borrowed from Greek empeirikós, "based on observation (of medical treatment), experienced") + -al entry 1 — more at empiric

First Known Use

1576, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of empirical was in 1576

See more words from the same year