<p><strong>Adjective</strong></p><ul><li>derived from or guided by direct experience or by experiment, rather than abstract principles or theory:<ul><li>Empirical evidence of changes in kelp consumption was gathered by measuring the bite marks in seaweed fronds.</li></ul></li><li>depending upon experience or observation alone, without using scientific method or theory, and hence sometimes insufficiently authoritative, especially as in medicine:<ul><li>That is nothing but an empirical conclusion with no regard for the laws of thermodynamics.</li></ul></li><li>provable or verifiable by experience or experiment, as scientific laws:<ul><li>Theoretical physics is criticized for producing complex concepts that are mathematical, not empirical.</li></ul></li></ul><p><strong>Synonyms</strong></p><ul><li>pragmatic</li><li>firsthand</li><li>practical</li></ul><p><strong>Antonyms</strong></p><ul><li>theoretical</li><li>secondhand</li></ul>