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Definition of scientific adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

scientific

adjective
 
/ˌsaɪənˈtɪfɪk/
 
/ˌsaɪənˈtɪfɪk/
[usually before noun]
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  1. involving science; connected with science
    • a scientific discovery/theory/fact
    • scientific research/evidence/knowledge/methods
    • sites of scientific interest
    • a scientific journal/paper/study
    • The consensus among the scientific community (= people who work in science) is that the average world surface temperature is 1.1°F higher than 100 years ago.
    Collocations Scientific researchScientific researchTheory
    • formulate/​advance a theory/​hypothesis
    • build/​construct/​create/​develop a simple/​theoretical/​mathematical model
    • develop/​establish/​provide/​use a theoretical/​conceptual framework
    • advance/​argue/​develop the thesis that…
    • explore an idea/​a concept/​a hypothesis
    • make a prediction/​an inference
    • base a prediction/​your calculations on something
    • investigate/​evaluate/​accept/​challenge/​reject a theory/​hypothesis/​model
    Experiment
    • design an experiment/​a questionnaire/​a study/​a test
    • do research/​an experiment/​an analysis
    • make observations/​measurements/​calculations
    • carry out/​conduct/​perform an experiment/​a test/​a longitudinal study/​observations/​clinical trials
    • run an experiment/​a simulation/​clinical trials
    • repeat an experiment/​a test/​an analysis
    • replicate a study/​the results/​the findings
    • observe/​study/​examine/​investigate/​assess a pattern/​a process/​a behaviour
    • fund/​support the research/​project/​study
    • seek/​provide/​get/​secure funding for research
    Results
    • collect/​gather/​extract data/​information
    • yield data/​evidence/​similar findings/​the same results
    • analyse/​examine the data/​soil samples/​a specimen
    • consider/​compare/​interpret the results/​findings
    • fit the data/​model
    • confirm/​support/​verify a prediction/​a hypothesis/​the results/​the findings
    • prove a conjecture/​hypothesis/​theorem
    • draw/​make/​reach the same conclusions
    • read/​review the records/​literature
    • describe/​report an experiment/​a study
    • present/​publish/​summarize the results/​findings
    • present/​publish/​read/​review/​cite a paper in a scientific journal
    Topics Scientific researchb1, Jobsb1
    Extra Examples
    • I did my own research in the scientific literature.
    • The book lacks any sound scientific basis.
    • Her curiosity was purely scientific.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • seem
    • sound
    adverb
    • highly
    • truly
    • purely
    See full entry
  2. (of a way of doing something or thinking) careful and logical
    • He took a very scientific approach to management.
    • We need to be more scientific about this problem.
    opposite unscientific
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • seem
    • sound
    adverb
    • highly
    • truly
    • purely
    See full entry
  3. compare non-scientific
    Word Originlate 16th cent.: from French scientifique or late Latin scientificus ‘producing knowledge’, from scientia, from scire ‘know’. Early use described the liberal arts as opposed to the “mechanic” arts (i.e. arts requiring manual skill).
See scientific in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee scientific in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
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