text: ...this may be because no other positive words are positive enough to define it...? ...this may be because no other positive words are positive enough to define it...  what other word can i use in place of the second "positive"? added note: i wouldn't say the problem with defining freedom is whether the words are "positive" enough. the problem seems more that freedom is "abstract," so differences in degree of freedom are intangible or vague and hard to describe. it is easier to describe in contrast to the lack of freedom, or oppression, where the difference in degree of "restrictions" on freedom are concrete and easier to compare.  can you reword your sentence to explain that since freedom is an abstract concept, the degrees of freedom are intangible and hard to measure or describe in practical terms. so freedom is more easily described in terms of the opposite condition, since degrees of oppression, or restrictions on freedom, are concrete phenomena that are easier to describe in comparison.      =========================== i would drop the first "positive" instead.  because no other words....  come across as positive. convey or carry the same positive message.  etc. capture the same essence or ideals. connote the same meaning/feeling/intensity. are as strong. are appropriate or as accurate. definite it or express it as well describe it as closely or accurately are as ideal. are emphatic enough.