different between forcible vs positive

English

Etymology

From Middle English forcible, forsable, from Old French forcible, from forcier (“to conquer by force”).

Adjective

forcible (comparative more forcible, superlative most forcible)

1. Done by force, forced.
   • 1674, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book II, lines 790-96, [1]

     I fled; but he pursued (though more, it seems, / Inflamed with lust than rage), and, swifter far, / Me overtook, his mother, all dismayed, / And, in embraces forcible and foul / Engendering with me, of that rape begot / These yelling monsters, that with ceaseless cry / Surround me, as thou saw'st—

   • 1923, "Jim Crow Tendency," Time, 9 March, 1923, [3]

     Since the forcible ejection of pugilist Siki from the New York Bar in Paris, discussion of Negro rights has become serious.

   • 2008, U.S. Department of Justice – Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime in the United States

     Forcible rape, as defined in the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, is the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will. Attempts or assaults to commit rape by force or threat of force are also included; however, statutory rape (without force) and other sex offenses are excluded.

2. (rare or obsolete) Having (physical) force, forceful.
3. Having a powerful effect; forceful, telling, strong, convincing, effective.
   • 1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, Book III, London: George Routledge & Sons, 1888, p. 207, [5]

     But that which hath been once most sufficient, may wax otherwise by alteration of time and place; that punishment which hath been sometimes forcible to bridle sin, may grow afterwards too weak and feebled.

   • c. 1598, William Shakespeare, Much Ado about Nothing, Act V, Scene 2, [6]

     Thou hast frighted the word out of his right sense, so forcible is thy wit.

   • 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Job 6:25 [7]

     How forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing reprove?

   • 1859, Francis Bacon, Historia Densi et Rari (1623), translated by James Spedding and Robert Leslie Ellis, in The Philosophical Works of Francis Bacon, edited by James Spedding, London: Longman & Co., 1861, Vol. II, section 388, p. 470,

     Sweet smells are most forcible in dry substances, when broken; and so likewise in oranges or lemons, the nipping off their rind giveth out their smell more […]

   • 1951, C. S. Lewis, Prince Caspian, Collins, 1998, Chapter 7,

     They all jumped up, shaking the water out of their ears and wringing their little blankets, and asked the Giant in shrill but forcible voices whether he thought they weren’t wet enough without this sort of thing.

4. Able to be forced.
   • 1831, Richard Burn, Joseph Chitty, Thomas Chitty, The Justice of the Peace and Parish Officer (volume 1, page 793)

     […] it seems that an entry is not forcible by the bare drawing up a latch, or pulling back the bolt of a door, there being no appearance therein of its being done by strong hand, or multitude of people; […]

   • 1835, Sir Thomas Edlyne Tomlins, Thomas Colpitts Granger, The Law-dictionary

     But an entry may be forcible, not only in respect of a violence actually done to the person of a man, but also in respect of any other kind of violence in the manner of the entry, as by breaking open the doors of a house […]

Derived terms

• forcible-feeble
• forcibly

Translations

References

• John A. Simpson and Edward S. C. Weiner, editors (1989) , “forcible”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, ?ISBN

English

Alternative forms

• +ve (abbreviation)

Etymology

From Old French positif, from Latin positivus, from the past participle stem of ponere (“to place”). Compare posit.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?p?z??t?v/
• (General American) enPR: p?z??-t?v, IPA^(key): /?p?z??t?v/
• Rhymes: -?z?t?v
• Hyphenation (UK): pos?it?ive, (US): pos?i?tive

Adjective

positive (comparative more positive, superlative most positive)

1. Not negative or neutral.
2. (law) Formally laid down. [from the 14th c.]
   • 1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie

     In laws, that which is natural bindeth universally; that which is positive, not so.

3. Stated definitively and without qualification. [from the 16th c.]

   • Positive words, that he would not bear arms against King Edward’s son.

4. Fully assured in opinion. [from the 17th c.]

5. (mathematics) Of number, greater than zero. [from the 18th c.]

   Antonym: nonpositive

6. Characterized by constructiveness or influence for the better.
7. Overconfident, dogmatic.
8. (chiefly philosophy) Actual, real, concrete, not theoretical or speculative.
   • 1597 Francis Bacon, The Colours of Good and Evil

     The flower or blossom is a a positive good.

9. (physics) Having more protons than electrons.

   Antonym: negative

10. (grammar) Describing the primary sense of an adjective, adverb or noun; not comparative, superlative, augmentative nor diminutive.

11. Derived from an object by itself; not dependent on changing circumstances or relations; absolute.

12. Characterized by the existence or presence of distinguishing qualities or features, rather than by their absence.

14. Characterized by the presence of features which support a hypothesis.

15. (photography) Of a visual image, true to the original in light, shade and colour values.

16. Favorable, desirable by those interested or invested in that which is being judged.

17. Wholly what is expressed; colloquially downright, entire, outright.

18. Optimistic. [from the 20th c.]

19. (chemistry) electropositive
20. (chemistry) basic; metallic; not acid; opposed to negative, and said of metals, bases, and basic radicals.
21. (slang) HIV positive.
    • quoted in 2013, William I. Johnston, HIV-Negative: How the Uninfected Are Affected by AIDS (page 145)

      We certainly told him at that time that I was negative. We talked about transmission. We told him we don't do anything that would cause me to become positive.

22. (New Age jargon) Good, desirable, healthful, pleasant, enjoyable; (often precedes 'energy', 'thought', 'feeling' or 'emotion').
    • 2009, Christopher Johns, Becoming a Reflective Practitioner, John Wiley & Sons, p. 15

      Negative feelings can be worked through and their energy converted into positive energy... In crisis, normal patterns of self-organization fail, resulting in anxiety (negative energy). Being open systems, people can exchange this energy with the environment and create positive energy for taking action...

Synonyms

• (steadfast in one's knowledge or belief): certain, sure, wis

Antonyms

• (doubtful): uncertain, unsure
• (spiritual quality): bad, evil, nongood

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

positive (plural positives)

1. A thing capable of being affirmed; something real or actual.

   • rating Positives by their Privatives

2. A favourable point or characteristic.
3. Something having a positive value in physics, such as an electric charge.
4. (grammar) A degree of comparison of adjectives and adverbs.
5. (grammar) An adjective or adverb in the positive degree.
6. (photography) A positive image; one that displays true colors and shades, as opposed to a negative.
7. The positive plate of a voltaic or electrolytic cell.
8. A positive result of a test.

Translations

Danish

Adjective

positive

1. inflection of positiv:
   1. definite singular
   2. plural

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /po.zi.tiv/
• Homophones: positivent, positives

Adjective

positive

1. feminine singular of positif

Verb

positive

1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive of positiver
2. second-person singular imperative of positiver

German

Pronunciation

Adjective

positive

1. inflection of positiv:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Italian

Adjective

positive

1. feminine plural of positivo

Anagrams

• sopitevi

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /po.si?ti?.u?e/, [p?s???t?i?u??]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /po.si?ti.ve/, [p?s?i?t?i?v?]

Adjective

posit?ve

1. vocative masculine singular of posit?vus

Norwegian Bokmål

Adjective

positive

1. definite singular of positiv
2. plural of positiv

Norwegian Nynorsk

Adjective

positive

1. definite singular of positiv
2. plural of positiv

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /posi?tibe/, [po.si?t?i.??e]

Verb

positive

1. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of positivar.
2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of positivar.
3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of positivar.
4. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of positivar.

Swedish

Adjective

positive

1. absolute definite natural masculine form of positiv.