Definition: derived from experiment and observation rather than theory
Usage: an empirical basis for an ethical theory; empirical laws; empirical data; an empirical treatment of a disease about which little is known
Similar words: a posteriori
Definition: requiring evidence for validation or support
Similar words: falsifiable, verifiable, confirmable
Definition: capable of being tested (verified or falsified) by experiment or observation
Similar words: existential, experiential
Definition: derived from experience or the experience of existence
Usage: the rich experiential content of the teachings of the older philosophers- Benjamin Farrington; formal logicians are not concerned with existential matters- John Dewey
Similar words: experimental, data-based, observational
Definition: relying on observation or experiment
Usage: experimental results that supported the hypothesis
Similar words: experimental
Definition: of the nature of or undergoing an experiment
Usage: an experimental drug
Similar words: semiempirical
Definition: relying to some extent on observation or experiment
Similar words: trial-and-error
Definition: trying out various means or theories until error is satisfactorily reduced or eliminated
Usage: he argued that all learning is a trial-and-error process that resembles biological evolution