A false positive error, or false positive, is a result that indicates a given condition exists when it objectively does not. For example, a pregnancy test which indicates a woman is pregnant …

A false positive —a test result indicative of disease that isn't actually present—can trigger a chain reaction of worry, further tests, and even unnecessary treatment.

A false positive is where you receive a positive result for a test, when you should have received a negative results. It’s sometimes called a “ false alarm ” or “false positive error.”

Jul 23, 2025 · False positives can result in Type I errors, meaning the null hypothesis is incorrectly rejected. In situations where false positives are frequent, the model may become overly …

A false positive occurs when a test or classification system incorrectly labels a negative case as positive. In other words, the test indicates the presence of a condition or outcome that isn’t …

Wrong (Definition of false positive from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

Both positive and negative false results can have very real individual health and public health implications. Understanding the circumstances around false results can help direct how they’re …

A false positive result would incorrectly diagnose that a patient has breast cancer, while a false negative one would fail to detect a patient who does have it.

Aug 18, 2025 · A false positive COVID-19 test occurs when an individual receives a positive result, indicating the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, even though they are not truly infected.

Here are some examples of "false positives" and "false negatives": Quality Control: a "false positive" is when a good quality item gets rejected, and a "false negative" is when a poor …