1. practitioners or advocates of empiricism; people who rely on observation and experience rather than theory
Usage: plural form; often used in historical or philosophical contexts
2. methods or practices based on observation and experience rather than theory or pure logic
Usage: plural form; less common usage

Examples

• The empirics of the 18th century challenged the purely theoretical science of their predecessors.
• Modern medicine owes much to the empirics who tested treatments through careful observation.
• The debate between rationalists and empirics shaped the course of Western philosophy.
• These empirics gathered data from hundreds of experiments before drawing conclusions.
• Rather than relying on abstract principles, the empirics preferred hands-on investigation.