# empirical

Pronunciation: say "im-PEER-i-kuhl" /ɪmˈpɪɹɪkəl/

## Adjective

1. Based on or testable by observations made through the senses or through instruments that extend them.
   - Simple: Based on what you can see, hear, touch, or measure with tools.
   - _The team relied on empirical readings gathered from sensors in the field._
   - _Her conclusions rested on empirical observation rather than on hunches._
2. Based on practical experience rather than on theory.
   - Simple: Based on real experience, not on ideas or theory.
   - _His empirical approach valued hands-on results over abstract models._
   - _The committee preferred empirical findings to purely theoretical arguments._
3. Able to be verified through scientific experimentation.
   - Simple: Able to be checked and proved true through scientific tests.
   - _The journal publishes only empirical studies whose results others can reproduce._
   - _Each empirical claim in the paper was backed by repeatable lab measurements._

## Noun

4. A measurement or result obtained through observation or experiment.
   - Simple: A measurement or result that comes from observation or testing.
   - _Each empirical recorded in the log corresponded to a single sensor reading._
   - _The analysts plotted the empiricals to see how closely they matched the model._

## Origin

Formed from "empiric" combined with the suffix "-al".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/empirical (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).