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Active vs Positive - What's the difference?

active | positive |

As adjectives the difference between active and positive

is that active is having the power or quality of acting; causing change; communicating action or motion; acting;—opposed to passive, that receives while positive is formally laid down.

As nouns the difference between active and positive

is that active is a person or thing that is acting or capable of acting while positive is a thing capable of being affirmed; something real or actual.

active

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Having the power or quality of acting; causing change; communicating action or motion; acting;—opposed to passive, that receives.
  • :
  • Quick in physical movement; of an agile and vigorous body; nimble.
  • :
  • In action; actually proceeding; working; in force; — opposed to quiescent, dormant, or extinct.
  • :
  • # Being an active volcano.
  • Given to action; constantly engaged in action; energetic; diligent; busy; — opposed to dull, sluggish, indolent, or inert.
  • :
  • *
  • *:This new-comer was a man who in any company would have seemed striking.He was smooth-faced, and his fresh skin and well-developed figure bespoke the man in good physical condition through active exercise, yet well content with the world's apportionment.
  • Requiring or implying action or exertion;—opposed to sedentary or to tranquil.
  • :
  • Given to action rather than contemplation; practical; operative; — opposed to speculative or theoretical.
  • :
  • Brisk; lively.
  • :
  • Implying or producing rapid action.
  • :
  • About verbs.
  • #Applied to a form of the verb; — opposed to passive. See active voice.
  • #Applied to verbs which assert that the subject acts upon or affects something else; transitive.
  • #Applied to all verbs that express action as distinct from mere existence or state.
  • (lb) (of a homosexual man) enjoying a role in anal sex in which he penetrates, rather than being penetrated by his partner.
  • Synonyms

    * (1): acting * (2): agile, nimble * (3): in action, in force, working * (4): busy, deedful, diligent, energetic * (6): operative, practical * (7): brisk, lively * (9.2): transitive * (10): top * See also

    Antonyms

    * (1): passive * (2): indolent, lethargic * (3): dormant, extinct, quiescent * (4): dull, indolent, inert, sluggish * (5): sedentary, tranquil * (6): speculative, theoretical * (7): slow * (9.1): passive * (10): passive, bottom

    Derived terms

    * cloud-active

    See also

    * versatile (in relation to sense 10 )

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A person or thing that is acting or capable of acting.
  • positive

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • (legal) Formally laid down.
  • * Hooker
  • In laws, that which is natural bindeth universally; that which is positive , not so.
  • Stated definitively and without qualification.
  • * :
  • Positive words, that he would not bear arms against King Edward’s son.
  • Fully assured in opinion.
  • I’m absolutely positive you've spelt that wrong.
  • (mathematics) Of number, greater than zero.
  • Characterized by constructiveness or influence for the better.
  • * :
  • a positive voice in legislation.
  • Overconfident, dogmatic.
  • * :
  • Some positive , persisting fops we know, That, if once wrong, will needs be always so.
  • (chiefly, philosophy) Actual, real, concrete, not theoretical or speculative.
  • * :
  • Positive good.
  • (physics) Having more protons than electrons.
  • A cation is a positive ion as it has more protons than electrons.
  • (grammar) Describing the primary sense of an adjective, adverb or noun; not comparative, superlative, augmentative nor diminutive.
  • ‘Better’ is an irregular comparative of the positive form ‘good’.
  • Derived from an object by itself; not dependent on changing circumstances or relations; absolute.
  • The idea of beauty is not positive , but depends on the different tastes of individuals.
  • Characterized by the existence or presence of distinguishing qualities or features, rather than by their absence.
  • The box was not empty – I felt some positive substance within it.
  • Characterized by the presence of features which support a hypothesis.
  • The results of our experiment are positive .
  • (photography) Of a visual image, true to the original in light, shade and colour values.
  • A positive photograph can be developed from a photographic negative.
  • Favorable, desirable by those interested or invested in that which is being judged.
  • The first-night reviews were largely positive .
  • Wholly what is expressed; colloquially downright, entire, outright.
  • Good lord, you've built up a positive arsenal of weaponry here.
  • Optimistic.
  • He has a positive outlook on life.
  • (chemistry) electropositive
  • (chemistry) basic; metallic; not acid; opposed to negative, and said of metals, bases, and basic radicals.
  • (slang) HIV positive.
  • (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

    * (sense, steadfast in one's knowledge or belief) certain, sure, wis

    Antonyms

    * (physics) negative * (mathematics) nonpositive * (doubtful) uncertain, unsure * (spiritual quality) bad, evil, nongood

    Derived terms

    * positivism * dipositive * positive crystal * positive degree * positive electricity * positive eyepiece * positive law * positively * positive motion * positive philosophy * positive pole * positive quantity * positive rotation * positive sign * positive contribution * tripositive * unipositive

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A thing capable of being affirmed; something real or actual.
  • (South)
  • A favourable point or characteristic.
  • Something having a positive value in physics, such as an electric charge.
  • (grammar) An adjective or adverb in the positive degree.
  • (photography) A positive image; one that displays true colors and shades, as opposed to a negative.
  • The positive plate of a voltaic or electrolytic cell.