Meaning & use
empirical
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Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
Based on what is observed or measured in experiments and real experience, not on theory alone.
Grammar: Usually before a noun: empirical evidence, empirical study.
Patterns
- empirical evidence for something
- empirical research on something
There is no empirical evidence that the treatment works.
The study offers empirical data from ten thousand households.
Scientists want empirical proof, not just a clever theory.
adjectivenot comparable
Relying on practical experience and trial, rather than formal rules.
Grammar: Describes an approach: an empirical method.
Patterns
- an empirical approach
The cook took an empirical approach, adjusting the recipe after every tasting.
Early engineers used empirical methods to build bridges.
His empirical knowledge of tides came from years at sea.
Common combinations
- empirical evidence
- The claim lacks empirical evidence.
- empirical data
- Researchers collected empirical data over five years.
- empirical study
- An empirical study of sleep found surprising results.
- empirical research
- Empirical research supports the new teaching method.
- empirical test
- The hypothesis passed every empirical test.
Synonyms and how they differ
- experimental
- Experimental refers to tests set up on purpose, while empirical covers any observation of the real world.
- observational
- Observational is narrower, meaning watching without intervening, while empirical includes experiments too.
- practical
- Practical means useful in real life, but empirical stresses evidence-based knowledge.
- factual
- Factual means based on facts, while empirical specifically suggests those facts came from observation or testing.
Opposites
Word family
- empirically adverb
- by observation or experiment
- empiricism noun
- the view that knowledge comes from experience
- empiricist noun
- someone who holds this view
- empiric adjective
- an older form of empirical
Commonly confused: empirical or imperial?
empirical vs imperial
Imperial relates to an empire or emperor and is unrelated to evidence or observation.
Practice
The scientists demanded ______ evidence from experiments before accepting the claim.
Choose one answer.
Empirical evidence comes from observation and testing. Theoretical and anecdotal evidence would not satisfy a request for experimental proof.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “empirical”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.