noun
- a person who believes that knowledge comes from experience and observation rather than from theory or pure reasoning
Usage: philosophy
Examples
- As an empiricist, she insisted on testing every hypothesis through careful experimentation.
- The empiricist rejected abstract theories that couldn’t be verified through observation.
- John Locke was a famous empiricist who argued that the mind begins as a blank slate.
- The empiricist approach to medicine emphasizes clinical trials and evidence-based treatment.
- Unlike rationalists, empiricists believe all knowledge ultimately derives from sensory experience.
- The scientist’s empiricist methodology required extensive data collection before drawing conclusions.