false positive

English

Noun

false positive (plural false positives)

1. A result of a test that shows as present something that is absent.

   A false positive from a cancer screening test will unnecessarily frighten a healthy person, a false negative will deprive them of timely treatment.

   A false positive can be returned on a password checking algorithm when the password is tested against a dictionary but the password does not contain a dictionary word.

2. (statistics) type I error

Synonyms

• (result of a test that shows as present something that is absent): false alarm

Antonyms

• (result of a test that shows as present something that is absent): false negative
• (type I error in statistics): false negative, type II error

Translations

result of a test that shows as present something that is absent

French: fausse alerte (fr) f. Hungarian: hamis pozitív (hu)

Irish: bréagdheimhneacht (ga) f.