- the doctrine that all knowledge of matters of fact derives from experience and that the mind is not furnished with a set of concepts in advance of experience
Compare intuitionism, rationalism - the use of empirical methods
- medical quackery; charlatanism
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
em•pir•i•cism
(em pir′ə siz′əm),USA pronunciation n.
em•pir′i•cist, n., adj.
- empirical method or practice.
- Philosophythe doctrine that all knowledge is derived from sense experience. Cf. rationalism (def. 2).
- undue reliance upon experience, as in medicine;
quackery. - an empirical conclusion.
- empiric + -ism 1650–60
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
empiricism /ɛmˈpɪrɪˌsɪzəm/ n
em•pir•i•cal /ɛmˈpɪrɪkəl/USA pronunciation
adj.
em•pir•i•cism /ɛmˈpɪrɪˌsɪzəm/USA pronunciation n. [uncountable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- derived from or depending upon experience or observation alone.
em•pir•i•cism /ɛmˈpɪrɪˌsɪzəm/USA pronunciation n. [uncountable]
em•pir•i•cal
(em pir′i kəl),USA pronunciation adj.
em•pir′i•cal•ly, adv.
em•pir′i•cal•ness, n.
- derived from or guided by experience or experiment.
- depending upon experience or observation alone, without using scientific method or theory, esp. as in medicine.
- provable or verifiable by experience or experiment.
- empiric + -al1 1560–70
em•pir′i•cal•ness, n.
- 1. 2. . practical, firsthand, pragmatic.
- 1. 2. . secondhand, theoretical.
'empiricism' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):