Dictionary

positively en · ADV

Pronunciation

• (California, Southern) audio
• /ˌpɑ.zɪˈtɪv.li/ (General-American)
• /ˈpɑ.zɪ.tɪv.li/ (General-American)
• pŏzʹĭtĭvli
• (US) audio
• /ˈpɒz.ɪ.tɪv.li/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• pŏzĭtĭv'li
• /ˌpɒz.ɪˈtɪv.li/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Middle English positively, equivalent to positive + -ly.

Meanings

1. In a positive manner.
   • There’s nothing – not. one. thing. – that Trump could do or say that would be received positively by TDSers. 2018 July 20, Chris Cillizza, “What is ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ – and do you have it?”, in CNN:
   • He approached the interview positively.
2. (modal) With certainty.
   • I will positively be there at 8 a.m.
   • The carriage nearly overturned, and he saw her eyes blaze at him, and she positively hissed, “I suppose you are enjoying this?” 1920, Katherine Mansfield [pseudonym; Kathleen Mansfield Murry], “The Escape”, in Bliss and Other Stories, London: Constable & Company, published 1920, →OCLC, page 277:
3. Absolutely; utterly.
   • "Positively do not open," reads the message under the cabinet in which Ed and Lorraine put the possessed Annabelle doll. 2017 September 16, Hollywood, “Demonic possession, cries for help: Read the chilling true story behind the Conjuring’s creepy Annabelle doll”, in Hindustan Times:
   • She talked and laughed and positively forgot until he had come in (just as she had imagined) that Pearl Fulton had not turned up. 1918 August, Katherine Mansfield [pseudonym; Kathleen Mansfield Murry], “Bliss”, in Bliss and Other Stories, London: Constable & Company, published 1920, →OCLC, page 127:
   • […] Easter Sunday, for all its traditions, is a gladless day in London. There is positively nothing to do. 1915, Ernest Temple Thurston, The City of Beautiful Nonsense, page 118:
4. (qualifier:degree) Very.
   • I had a positively wonderful time.
   • The half-dozen pieces […] were painted white and carved with festoons of flowers, birds and cupids. […] The bed was the most extravagant piece. Its graceful cane halftester rose high towards the cornice and was so festooned in carved white wood that the effect was positively insecure, as if the great couch were trimmed with icing sugar. 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 1, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
   • In the 90s it was Craigslist and AOL chat rooms, then Match.com and Kiss.com. But the lengthy, heartfelt e-mails exchanged by the main characters in You’ve Got Mail (1998) seem positively Victorian in comparison to the messages sent on the average dating app today. 2015, Nancy Jo Sales, “Tinder and the Dawn of the “Dating Apocalypse””, in Vanity Fair:

Forms

Deriveds

posilutely · posolutely · positutely · absitively · absotively · absatively · nonpositively · photopositively

Relateds

absitively posolutely

Synonyms

flat out · categorically · somewhat · line · damn · to the bone · pretty · surely · definitely · downright · right · specially · passing · tout à fait · exhaustively · jolly · properly · unconditionally · top to tail · handsomely · soundly · head to toe · blind · without doubt · right · univocally · swith · all-out · sorely · purely · extremely · unquestionably · flat-out · simply · really · straight up · eminently · completely · above a bit · abundantly · from head to toe · quite · for certain · categorically · greatly · from the rooter to the tooter · truly · at length · doubtlessly · from top to bottom · definitely · through and through · in full · absolutely · horrendously · categorically · out and out · totally · all the way · excessively · finally · in spades · doubtless · stone-cold · lock · cold · cap-a-pie · ever so · plumb · altogether · strongly · top to toe · positively · first and last · main · bone · sore · decisively · fully · to the full · absolutely · very much · totes · heartily · positively · way · whole · stock · wickedly · and barrel · without a doubt · all too · but good · head to foot · for a fact · horribly · way too · exceedingly · head to tail · from A to Z · questionlessly · fucking · at large · self-evidently · quite · decisively · wholly · sure · unarguably · widely · undeniably · ex facie · very · one hundred percent · entirely · from aardvark to zymurgy · well and truly · in detail · indisputably · for sure · mightily · perfectly · fo shizzle · certainly · detailly · all · soup-to-nuts · undoubtably · flipping · from top to toe · whole cloth · highly · to the core · and sinker · freaking · without question · undoubtedly · stark · outright · hook · particularly · completely · murrain · wicked · from stem to stern · assuredly · indubitably · vastly · utterly · from soup to nuts · out-and-out · root and branch

Translations (52)

fi erinomaisen (very) · de wohlgestimmt (in a positive manner) · cs pozitivně (in a positive manner) · es de todas maneras (with certainty) · de sicher (with certainty) · hi यक़ीनन (with certainty) · de zustimmend (in a positive manner) · nl positief (in a positive manner) · el θετικά (in a positive manner) · pt positivamente (in a positive manner) · hi ज़रूर से (with certainty) · es terminantemente (with certainty) · fi erittäin (very) · hi निश्चयेन (with certainty) · de wirklich (very) · ca positivament (in a positive manner) · de wirklich (with certainty) · it positivamente (in a positive manner) · de bestimmt (with certainty) · de eindeutig (with certainty) · es inequívocamente (with certainty) · de gewiss (with certainty) · sk isto (with certainty) · hi यक़ीन से (with certainty) · de wohlgesinnt (in a positive manner) · bg категорично (with certainty) · de definitiv (with certainty) · fi varmasti (with certainty) · tr olumlu (in a positive manner) · sk pozitívne (with certainty) · pt certamente (with certainty) · uk позити́вно (in a positive manner) · bg положително (in a positive manner) · grc θετικῶς (in a positive manner) · nl positief (very) · de positiv (in a positive manner) · de sehr (very) · de bejahend (in a positive manner) · hi असल में (with certainty) · sk pozitívne (in a positive manner) · fi positiivisesti (in a positive manner) · fi myönteisesti (in a positive manner) · sk kladne (in a positive manner) · sh дефинитивно (with certainty) · et positiivselt (in a positive manner) · pl pozytywnie (in a positive manner) · bg несъмнено (with certainty) · hi यक़ीन (with certainty) · nl zeker (with certainty) · de entschieden (with certainty) · hu pozitívan (in a positive manner) · cs kladně (in a positive manner)