empiric

UK: /ɛmˈpɪrɪk/ US: (em pir′ik)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

em•pir•ic  (em pir′ik), n. 

1. a person who follows an empirical method.
2. a quack;
   charlatan.

adj. 

3. empirical.

• Greek empeirikós experienced, equivalent. to em- em-² + peir- (stem of peirân to attempt) + -ikos -ic
• Latin empīricus
• 1520–30

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

empiric / ɛmˈpɪrɪk/ noun

1. a person who relies on empirical methods
2. a medical quack; charlatan

adjective

1. a variant of empirical

Etymology: 16th Century: from Latin empīricus, from Greek empeirikos practised, from peiran to attempt

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

em•pir•i•cal /ɛmˈpɪrɪkəl/   adj. 

1. derived from or depending upon experience or observation alone.

em•pir•i•cal•ly, adv. 
em•pir•i•cism /ɛmˈpɪrɪˌsɪzəm/  n. [uncountable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

em•pir•i•cal  (em pir′i kəl), adj. 

1. derived from or guided by experience or experiment.
2. depending upon experience or observation alone, without using scientific method or theory, esp. as in medicine.
3. provable or verifiable by experience or experiment.

• empiric + -al¹ 1560–70

em•pir′i•cal•ly, adv. 
em•pir′i•cal•ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 1, 2. . practical, firsthand, pragmatic.

Antonyms

• 1, 2. . secondhand, theoretical.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

empirical / ɛmˈpɪrɪk^əl/, empiric / ɛmˈpɪrɪk/, empiricutic / ɛmˌpɪrɪˈkjuːtɪk/ adjective

1. derived from or relating to experiment and observation rather than theory
2. (of medical treatment) based on practical experience rather than scientific proof
3. (of knowledge) derived from experience rather than by logic from first principles
   Compare a priori, a posteriori
4. (of a proposition) subject, at least theoretically, to verification
   Compare analytic4, synthetic4
5. of or relating to medical quackery

emˈpiricalness noun