| 释义 |
positively, adv.|ˈpɒzɪtɪvlɪ|
[f. prec. + -ly2.]
In a positive manner.
1. Definitely, expressly, explicitly, directly, downright; with assurance or confident assertion.
1593Nashe Christ's T. 83 b, I positiuely affirme it [the Plague] is for sinne. 1642Howell For. Trav. (Arb.) 49 Some of the approvedst Antiquaries positively hold the Originall Language of the Celts..to be Welsh. 1699Bentley Phal. 90, I do not pretend to pass my own Judgment, or to determin positively on either side. 1730in Swift's Lett. (1766) II. 121 You would not so positively affirm this fact..without knowing the certain truth. 1800Med. Jrnl. IV. 139 Had he positively contradicted my assertion, I could have answered and confuted him in one word. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. i. I. 53 A large body of Protestants..regarded prelacy as positively unlawful.
2. Not comparatively or relatively; absolutely, simply; in itself.
1597Bacon Coulers Good & Evill vi. Ess. (Arb.) 146 The good or euil..may be esteemed good or euil comparatiuely and not positiuely or simply. 1871Freeman Norm. Conq. IV. xviii. 220 The original town occupied the end of a positively small, but in that flat region, considerable, ridge of higher ground overlooking the river at its feet.
3. In an affirmative, real, or actual manner; in relation to what is, as distinguished from what is not; actually; opposed to negatively.
1668Wilkins Real Char. 309 Prepositions..signifying some respect of Cause, Place, Time, or other circumstance either Positively or Privatively. 1683D. A. Art Converse 116 They are rather not civil than positively incivil. 1776Paine Com. Sense (1791) 5 Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness positively, by uniting our affections; the latter negatively, by restraining our vices. 1961C. E. Vincent Unmarried Mothers x. 254 Her inability to resolve these various identity crises positively. 1972Jrnl. Social Psychol. LXXXVII. 34 It has generally been assumed that level of fear is related positively to response in a potential panic situation.
4. a. Electr. With positive electricty.
1747Franklin Lett., etc. Wks. 1840 V. 186 Hence have arisen some new terms among us; we say B (and bodies like circumstanced) is electrized positively; A, negatively. Or rather, B is electrized plus; A, minus. 1770Priestley in Phil. Trans. LX. 197 The result was invariably the same..whether the jar was charged positively or negatively. 1832Nat. Philos. II. Electric. ii. §49. 13 (U.K. Soc.) When⁓ever they [bodies] contain a quantity of fluid greater than this, they are said to be positively electrified, or to have positive electricity. 1873Maxwell Electr. & Magn. I. 46 A positively electrified surface.
b. In the direction taken as positive or primary.
1875Bennett & Dyer Sachs' Bot. 677 In the ivy..the internodes are positively heliotropic when young, but negatively when old before growth ceases. Ibid. [see heliotropic].
5. Absolutely, actually, really; indeed, in truth, truly. (Qualifying the statement.) Also colloq. used ellipt. as an emphatic affirmative: yes, indeed.
17..Sheridan Sch. Scand. i. i, So, Maria, you see your lover pursues you; positively you sha'n't escape. 1823Foster in Life & Corr. (1846) II. 51 This edition has undergone positively the last revisal. 1859Mrs. Carlyle Lett. (1883) III. 2 Positively, it took away my breath. 1886W. J. Tucker E. Europe 159 His Excellency positively hates the sight of him. 1922H. S. Walpole Cathedral ii. ii. 188 She hasn't an idea in her head. I don't believe that she knows it's Jubilee Year. Positively! 1942Partridge Usage & Abusage 4/2 Absolutely and positively... In slang their meaning is yes (popularized by a famous vaudeville duet between ‘Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Sheehan’). |
