empiric
/em'pirik/
Definition
- Adjective:
- Based on observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic: Describes knowledge, methods, or treatments derived from practical experience or direct observation, not from scientific theory or principle.
- Relying on unscientific methods or quackery: Describes practices, especially in historical medicine, based on untested methods or mere conjecture rather than proven science.
Examples of Usage
- Adjective:
- The ancient healer's approach was purely empiric, relying on herbs that seemed to work without understanding why.
- Before the development of modern chemistry, much of alchemy was an empiric art.
- The doctor, lacking a clear diagnosis, decided on an empiric course of antibiotics.
Advanced Usage
"Empiric risk": In medicine and genetics, a risk estimate based on observed incidence in a population rather than on theoretical genetic models.
- The genetic counselor discussed the empiric risk of the disease recurring in the family.
"Empiric therapy": A medical treatment begun based on a likely diagnosis, before test results confirm the cause.
- For a severe infection, starting empiric therapy with broad-spectrum antibiotics is often necessary.
Variants and Related Words
Empirical (adj): The more common modern synonym, typically used in scientific contexts to describe data or methods based on observation or experiment.
- The study provided strong empirical evidence for the hypothesis.
Empiricism (n): The philosophical theory that all knowledge is derived from sense-experience.
- The philosophy of empiricism contrasts with rationalism.
Empiricist (n): A person who supports or practices empiricism.
- David Hume was a famous empiricist philosopher.
Synonyms
- Experiential: Based on or involving experience.
- Observational: Based on watching and recording phenomena.
- Pragmatic: Dealing with things sensibly and realistically based on practical consequences.
- Trial-and-error: Solving a problem by trying various methods until one succeeds.
Antonyms
- Theoretical: Concerned with the abstract principles of a subject rather than its practical application.
- Dogmatic: Inclined to lay down principles as undeniably true.
- Speculative: Based on conjecture rather than knowledge.
Related Phrases
- Rule of thumb: A broadly accurate guide or principle, based on experience rather than theory (an empiric guideline).
- As a simple rule of thumb, water boils at 100 degrees Celsius at sea level.
Notes on Usage
- The term empiric is less common in modern general English than empirical. Empiric often carries a historical or slightly archaic nuance and can imply a lack of formal scientific basis, sometimes even suggesting quackery. Empirical, while also meaning derived from observation, is the standard, neutral term used in contemporary scientific and academic writing to describe evidence-based practice.
Adjective
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derived from experiment and observation rather than theory
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an empirical basis for an ethical theory
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empirical laws
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empirical data
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an empirical treatment of a disease about which little is known
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relying on medical quackery
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empiric treatment
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