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noun

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positive feedback
encouraging feedback
constructive feedback
affirmative feedback
favorable feedback
welcome feedback
a positive effect
a beneficial effect
a good effect
an important effect
a favorable effect
a healthy effect
a positive attitude
an optimistic attitude
a cheerful attitude
a healthy attitude
an upbeat attitude
a hopeful attitude

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective positive contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of positive are certain, cocksure, and sure. While all these words mean "having no doubt or uncertainty," positive intensifies sureness or certainty and may imply opinionated conviction or forceful expression of it.

I'm positive that's the person I saw

When would certain be a good substitute for positive?

The meanings of certain and positive largely overlap; however, certain may apply to a basing of a conclusion or conviction on definite grounds or indubitable evidence.

police are certain about the cause of the fire

When can cocksure be used instead of positive?

While in some cases nearly identical to positive, cocksure implies presumptuous or careless positiveness.

you're always so cocksure about everything

When could sure be used to replace positive?

In some situations, the words sure and positive are roughly equivalent. However, sure usually stresses the subjective or intuitive feeling of assurance.

felt sure that I had forgotten something

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of positive
Adjective
For a rare bit of positive news, Filip Chytil joined the Canucks as a limited participant in a non-practice jersey on Sunday. Thomas Drance, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025 While Harry shared a brief, positive meeting with his father following Charles’ cancer diagnosis in 2024, communication between father and son has since broken down, People magazine previously reported. Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 14 Apr. 2025
Noun
Experts weigh in on the financial and emotional implications, as well as the positives. Lauren Brown West-Rosenthal, Parents, 5 Apr. 2025 Coolidge admitted there were positives from playing the character at 37 years old. Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 26 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for positive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for positive
Adjective
  • Two women in the crowd sporting red Trump caps appeared to be outnumbered by audience members who took a more favorable stance toward Casten and the Democrats.
    Jeremy Gorner, Chicago Tribune, 14 Apr. 2025
  • The move likely keeps the Pacers in a more favorable postseason picture: a first-round matchup against a Milwaukee Bucks team missing Damian Lillard and a possible second-round matchup against the Cavaliers — and not the defending champion Boston Celtics.
    Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Investors are confident that such bold approaches will pay off, and the companies on the Technology list have collectively raised more than $300 million in recent years.
    Thomas Brewster, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
  • On the plus side, Luong is confident in keeping steady prices because Ampersand has other cost advantages.
    Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health concur that there is conclusive evidence that alcohol causes several types of cancer.
    Pranoti Mandrekar, The Conversation, 7 Apr. 2025
  • Anecdotes from such sources are, of course, far from conclusive.
    Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 8 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Lions and Vikes are known for offense — who would have believed a few yeas ago that Jared Goff vs. Sam Darnold would be a marquee duel?
    Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 2 Jan. 2025
  • One is public employees who receive pensions that are exempt from Social Security payroll taxes, but who also worked at least 10 yeas in jobs that required them to pay into the system.
    Maya C. Miller, New York Times, 21 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • After a week full of monstrous swings, the S&P 500 posted its best weekly performance since November 23, while the Nasdaq saw its best week since November 2022, according to the financial data firm FactSet.
    Anne Marie Drummond Lee, CBS News, 11 Apr. 2025
  • Shorts are the only categories whose winners are ineligible for best picture, acting, screenplay or any other major Oscar, due to their length.
    Clayton Davis, Variety, 11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The sweat, sure, but also just the indignity of it.
    Jack Lang, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2025
  • But chipping away at central bank independence, as Trump appears to be doing with his open criticism of the Fed chair and implicit threats of dismissal, is a historically sure way to high inflation.
    Ana Carolina Garriga, The Conversation, 18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Call me crazy, but there’s a definite pulp feel to all the prison scenes and sets, too.
    Andy Andersen, Vulture, 18 Apr. 2025
  • For everything else, pause until there is more clarity – Effective leaders are realistic about their ability to set a definite plan in the early days of tariffs.
    John M. Bremen, Forbes.com, 17 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • When not watching the musical sets or the surf pros in actions, guests could be seen floating down the lazy river, plunging down waterslides, checking out the different brand activations or hopping in the on-site sauna or ice plunge for a moment of wellness.
    Brianne Tracy, People.com, 18 Apr. 2025
  • The cleaning pro advises opting for a formula that is specifically suited for stone care instead.
    Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 18 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Positive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/positive. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.

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