empirical

English

Etymology

From empiric + -al.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɪmˈpɪɹɪkəl/
  • (file)

Adjective

empirical (comparative more empirical, superlative most empirical)

  1. Pertaining to or based on experience.
    • H. Spencer
      The village carpenter [] lays out his work by empirical rules learnt in his apprenticeship.
  2. Pertaining to, derived from, or testable by observations made using the physical senses or using instruments which extend the senses.
  3. (philosophy of science) Verifiable by means of scientific experimentation.

Synonyms

Antonyms

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Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

See also

Further reading

  • empirical in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
  • empirical in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
  • empirical at OneLook Dictionary Search
  • "empirical" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 115.
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