Adjacent Words

Absolute definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

AB'SOLUTE, a. [L. absolutus. See Absolve.]
1. Literally, in a general sense, free, independent of any thing extraneous. Hence,
2. Complete in itself; positive; as an absolute declaration.
3. Unconditional, as an absolute promise.
4. Existing independent of any other cause, as God is absolute.
5. Unlimited by extraneous power or control, as an absolute government or prince.
6. Not relative, as absolute space.
In grammar, the case absolute, is when a word or member of a sentence is not immediately dependent on the other parts of the sentence in government.
Absolute equation, in astronomy, is the aggregate of the
optic and eccentric equations. The apparent inequality of a planet's motion in its orbit, arising from is unequal distances from the earth at different times, is called its optic equation; the eccentric inequality is caused by the uniformity of the planet's motion, in an elliptical orbit, which, for that reason, appears not to be uniform.
Absolute numbers, in algebra, are such as have no letters annexed, as 2a+36=48. the two latter numbers are absolute or pure.
Absolute space, in physics, is space considered without relation to any other object.
Absolute gravity, in philosophy, is that property in bodies by which they are said to weigh so much, without regard to circumstances of modification, and this is always as the quantity of matter they contain.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: perfect or complete or pure; "absolute loyalty"; "absolute silence"; "absolute truth"; "absolute alcohol" [ant: comparative, relative]
2: complete and without restriction or qualification; sometimes used informally as intensifiers; "absolute freedom"; "an absolute dimwit"; "a downright lie"; "out-and-out mayhem"; "an out-and-out lie"; "a rank outsider"; "many right-down vices"; "got the job through sheer persistence"; "sheer stupidity" [syn: absolute, downright, out-and-out, rank, right-down, sheer]
3: not limited by law; "an absolute monarch"
4: expressing finality with no implication of possible change; "an absolute guarantee to respect the nation's authority"
5: not capable of being violated or infringed; "infrangible human rights" [syn: absolute, infrangible, inviolable] n
1: something that is conceived or that exists independently and not in relation to other things; something that does not depend on anything else and is beyond human control; something that is not relative; "no mortal being can influence the absolute"

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Middle English absolut, from Anglo-French, from Latin absolutus, from past participle of absolvere to set free, absolve Date: 14th century 1. a. free from imperfection ; perfect <it is a most absolute and excellent horse — Shakespeare> b. free or relatively free from mixture ; pure <absolute alcohol> c. outright, unmitigated <an absolute lie> 2. being, governed by, or characteristic of a ruler or authority completely free from constitutional or other restraint <absolute power> 3. a. standing apart from a normal or usual syntactical relation with other words or sentence elements <the absolute construction this being the case in the sentence “this being the case, let us go”> b. of an adjective or possessive pronoun standing alone without a modified substantive <blind in “help the blind” and ours in “your work and ours” are absolute> c. of a verb having no object in the particular construction under consideration though normally transitive <kill in “if looks could kill” is an absolute verb> 4. having no restriction, exception, or qualification <an absolute requirement> <absolute freedom> 5. positive, unquestionable <absolute proof> 6. a. independent of arbitrary standards of measurement b. relating to or derived in the simplest manner from the fundamental units of length, mass, and time <absolute electric units> c. relating to, measured on, or being a temperature scale based on absolute zero <absolute temperature>; specifically kelvin <10° absolute> 7. fundamental, ultimate <absolute knowledge> 8. perfectly embodying the nature of a thing <absolute justice> 9. being self-sufficient and free of external references or relationships <an absolute term in logic> <absolute music> 10. being the true distance from an aircraft to the earth's surface <absolute altitude> • absolute noun • absoluteness noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 complete, utter, perfect (an absolute fool; absolute bliss). 2 unconditional, unlimited (absolute authority). 3 despotic; ruling arbitrarily or with unrestricted power (an absolute monarch). 4 (of a standard or other concept) universally valid; not admitting exceptions; not relative or comparative. 5 Gram. a (of a construction) syntactically independent of the rest of the sentence, as in dinner being over, we left the table; let us toss for it, loser to pay. b (of an adjective or transitive verb) used or usable without an expressed noun or object (e.g. the deaf, guns kill). 6 (of a legal decree etc.) final. --n. Philos. 1 a value, standard, etc., which is objective and universally valid, not subjective or relative. 2 (prec. by the) a Philos. that which can exist without being related to anything else. b Theol. ultimate reality; God. Phrases and idioms: absolute alcohol Chem. ethanol free from water or other impurities. absolute magnitude the magnitude, i.e. brightness, of a celestial body as seen at a standard distance of 10 parsecs (opp. apparent magnitude). absolute majority 1 a majority over all others combined. 2 more than half. absolute pitch Mus. 1 the ability to recognize the pitch of a note or produce any given note. 2 a fixed standard of pitch defined by the rate of vibration. absolute temperature one measured from absolute zero. absolute zero a theoretical lowest possible temperature, at which the particles whose motion constitutes heat would be minimal, calculated as -273.15 °C (or 0 °K). Derivatives: absoluteness n. Etymology: ME f. L absolutus past part.: see ABSOLVE

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Absolute Ab"so*lute, n. (Geom.) In a plane, the two imaginary circular points at infinity; in space of three dimensions, the imaginary circle at infinity.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Absolute Ab"so*lute, a. [L. absolutus, p. p. of absolvere: cf. F. absolu. See Absolve.] 1. Loosed from any limitation or condition; uncontrolled; unrestricted; unconditional; as, absolute authority, monarchy, sovereignty, an absolute promise or command; absolute power; an absolute monarch. 2. Complete in itself; perfect; consummate; faultless; as, absolute perfection; absolute beauty. So absolute she seems, And in herself complete. --Milton. 3. Viewed apart from modifying influences or without comparison with other objects; actual; real; -- opposed to relative and comparative; as, absolute motion; absolute time or space. Note: Absolute rights and duties are such as pertain to man in a state of nature as contradistinguished from relative rights and duties, or such as pertain to him in his social relations. 4. Loosed from, or unconnected by, dependence on any other being; self-existent; self-sufficing. Note: In this sense God is called the Absolute by the Theist. The term is also applied by the Pantheist to the universe, or the total of all existence, as only capable of relations in its parts to each other and to the whole, and as dependent for its existence and its phenomena on its mutually depending forces and their laws. 5. Capable of being thought or conceived by itself alone; unconditioned; non-relative. Note: It is in dispute among philosopher whether the term, in this sense, is not applied to a mere logical fiction or abstraction, or whether the absolute, as thus defined, can be known, as a reality, by the human intellect. To Cusa we can indeed articulately trace, word and thing, the recent philosophy of the absolute. --Sir W. Hamilton. 6. Positive; clear; certain; not doubtful. [R.] I am absolute 't was very Cloten. --Shak. 7. Authoritative; peremptory. [R.] The peddler stopped, and tapped her on the head, With absolute forefinger, brown and ringed. --Mrs. Browning. 8. (Chem.) Pure; unmixed; as, absolute alcohol. 9. (Gram.) Not immediately dependent on the other parts of the sentence in government; as, the case absolute. See Ablative absolute, under Ablative. Absolute curvature (Geom.), that curvature of a curve of double curvature, which is measured in the osculating plane of the curve. Absolute equation (Astron.), the sum of the optic and eccentric equations. Absolute space (Physics), space considered without relation to material limits or objects. Absolute terms. (Alg.), such as are known, or which do not contain the unknown quantity. --Davies & Peck. Absolute temperature (Physics), the temperature as measured on a scale determined by certain general thermo-dynamic principles, and reckoned from the absolute zero.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(absolutes) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. Absolute means total and complete. It's not really suited to absolute beginners... A sick person needs absolute confidence and trust in a doctor. = complete ADJ: usu ADJ n 2. You use absolute to emphasize something that you are saying. About 12 inches wide is the absolute minimum you should consider... I think it's absolute nonsense. = complete ADJ: ADJ n [emphasis] 3. An absolute ruler has complete power and authority over his or her country. He ruled with absolute power. ADJ: ADJ n 4. Absolute is used to say that something is definite and will not change even if circumstances change. They had given an absolute assurance that it would be kept secret. ADJ: usu ADJ n 5. An amount that is expressed in absolute terms is expressed as a fixed amount rather than referring to variable factors such as what you earn or the effects of inflation. In absolute terms British wages remain low by European standards. ? real ADJ: ADJ n 6. Absolute rules and principles are believed to be true, right, or relevant in all situations. There are no absolute rules. ? relative ADJ: usu ADJ n 7. An absolute is a rule or principle that is believed to be true, right, or relevant in all situations. N-COUNT 8. see also decree absolute

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Independent, unrestricted, unqualified, unlimited, unconditional, unconditioned, complete, perfect, self-existent, self-determined, ideal, supreme, causa sui. 2. Despotic, arbitrary, tyrannical, tyrannous, imperious, imperative, authoritative, autocratic, dictatorial, irresponsible. 3. Positive, actual, real, veritable, determinate, decided, genuine, categorical, unequivocal, unquestionable, certain.

Moby Thesaurus

OK, absolutist, absolutistic, abstract, accurate, actual, adducible, admissible, admitting no exception, admitting no question, affirmative, affirmatory, all right, all-embracing, all-encompassing, all-out, all-pervading, all-powerful, almighty, alone, apodictic, arbitrary, aristocratic, arrant, arrogant, ascendant, assertative, assertional, assertive, assuring, attestative, attestive, autarchic, authentic, authoritarian, authoritative, authorized, autocratic, autonomous, azygous, bare, based on, beyond all praise, binding, born, bossy, bound, boundless, broad-based, bureaucratic, categorical, celibate, certain, circumstantial, civic, civil, clarified, classical, clean, clear, clear and distinct, clear as day, clothed with authority, commanding, competent, complete, comprehensive, compulsory, conclusive, concrete, confirmable, congenital, consequential, considerable, constitutional, consummate, controlling, convictional, convincing, correct, crass, cumulative, damning, de facto, dead right, decided, decisive, declarative, declaratory, decretory, deep-dyed, defectless, defined, definite, definitive, democratic, demonstrable, demonstratable, despotic, detailed, determinate, determinative, dictated, dictatorial, different, distilled, distinct, distinguished, documentary, documented, dominant, domineering, downright, duly constituted, dyed-in-the-wool, egregious, eminent, emphatic, empowered, entailed, entire, esoteric, especial, eternal, evidential, evidentiary, ex officio, ex parte, exceptional, exhaustive, explicit, express, extraordinary, eye-witness, factual, fascist, faultless, federal, federalist, federalistic, feudal, final, finished, first and last, firsthand, fixed, flagrant, flat, flat-out, flawless, for real, founded on, free, full, genuine, glaring, global, governing, governmental, great, grinding, gross, grounded on, gubernatorial, hard, hard-and-fast, haste, hearsay, hegemonic, hegemonistic, heteronomous, high-handed, historical, honest-to-God, ideal, illimitable, immaculate, impair, impeccable, imperative, imperial, imperious, implicit, important, imposed, impressive, inappealable, incontestable, incontrovertible, indefectible, indefective, independent, indicative, indisputable, individual, indubitable, ineluctable, inevitable, infallible, infinite, influential, inner, intensive, intimate, intolerable, irrefragable, irrefutable, irreproachable, irresistible, irrevocable, just, just right, leading, letter-perfect, limitless, lone, lordly, magisterial, magistral, mandated, mandatory, masterful, material, matriarchal, matriarchic, meticulous, mighty, minute, momentous, monarchal, monarchial, monarchic, monocratic, must, naked, neat, necessary, no strings, noteworthy, nuncupative, obligatory, odd, official, okay, oligarchal, oligarchic, omnibus, omnipotent, omnipresent, one and only, only, only-begotten, open, oppressive, out-and-out, outright, overbearing, overruling, overwhelming, parliamentarian, parliamentary, particular, patriarchal, patriarchic, peerless, peremptory, perfect, perfectly sure, personal, persuasive, pervasive, plain, plenary, plenipotentiary, plumb, pluralistic, political, positive, potent, powerful, precious, precise, predestined, predetermined, predicational, predicative, preeminent, prescript, prescriptive, prestigious, presumptive, private, probative, profound, prominent, pronounced, proper, provable, puissant, pure, purified, radical, rank, ranking, real, rectified, regular, reliable, repressive, republican, required, respective, right, round, ruling, satisfactory, satisfying, self-evident, self-governing, senior, several, severe, shattering, sheer, shocking, significant, simple, singular, sinless, sole, solipsistic, sovereign, special, specific, spotless, stainless, stark, stark-staring, straight, straight-out, straight-up-and-down, strict, substantial, suggestive, superior, superlative, suppressive, supreme, sure, sure-enough, surpassing, sweeping, symptomatic, taintless, telling, testable, the veriest, theocratic, thorough, thoroughgoing, through-and-through, total, totalitarian, transcendent, transcendental, transparent, true, tyrannical, tyrannous, ubiquitous, ultimate, unadulterated, unalloyed, unambiguous, unanswerable, unbearable, unblemished, unblended, unbound, unbounded, uncircumscribed, uncombined, uncompounded, unconditional, unconditioned, unconfined, unconfutable, unconscionable, unconstrained, uncontaminated, uncorrupted, undeniable, undiluted, undoubting, unequivocal, unfaultable, unflawed, unfortified, unhampered, unhesitating, unimpeachable, unique, universal, univocal, unleavened, unlimited, unmeasured, unmingled, unmistakable, unmitigated, unmixed, unpaired, unqualified, unquestionable, unquestioning, unrefutable, unrelieved, unrepeated, unreserved, unrestrained, unrestricted, unsophisticated, unspoiled, unspotted, untainted, untinged, unwaivable, utter, valid, verifiable, veritable, weighty, whole, wholesale, wide-open, without appeal, without exception, without reserve, without strings