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Sublime definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SUBLI'ME, a. [L. sublimis.]
1. High in place; exalted aloft.
Sublime on these a tow'r of steel is rear'd.
2. High in excellence; exalted by nature; elevated.
Can it be that souls sublime
Return to visit our terrestrial clime?
3. High in style or sentiment; lofty; grand.
Easy in style thy work, in sense sublime.
4. Elevated by joy; as sublime with expectation.
5. Lofty of mein; elevated in manner.
His fair large front and eye sublime declar'd
Absolute rule.
SUBLI'ME, n. A grand or lofty style; a style that expresses lofty conceptions.
The sublime rises from the nobleness of thoughts, the magnificence of words, or the harmonious and lively turn of the phrase--
SUBLI'ME, v.t. To sublimate, which see.
1. To raise on high.
2. To exalt; to highten; to improve.
The sun--
Which not alone the southern wit sublimes,
But ripens spirits in cold northern climes.
SUBLI'ME, v.i. To be brought or changed into a state of vapor by heat, and then condensed by cold, as a solid substance.
Particles of antimony which will not sublime alone.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: inspiring awe; "well-meaning ineptitude that rises to empyreal absurdity"- M.S.Dworkin; "empyrean aplomb"- Hamilton Basso; "the sublime beauty of the night" [syn: empyreal, empyrean, sublime]
2: worthy of adoration or reverence [syn: reverend, sublime]
3: lifted up or set high; "their hearts were jocund and sublime"- Milton
4: of high moral or intellectual value; elevated in nature or style; "an exalted ideal"; "argue in terms of high-flown ideals"- Oliver Franks; "a noble and lofty concept"; "a grand purpose" [syn: exalted, elevated, sublime, grand, high-flown, high-minded, lofty, rarefied, rarified, idealistic, noble-minded] v
1: vaporize and then condense right back again [syn: sublime, sublimate]
2: change or cause to change directly from a solid into a vapor without first melting; "sublime iodine"; "some salts sublime when heated" [syn: sublime, sublimate]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (sublimed; subliming) Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French sublimer, from Medieval Latin sublimare to refine, sublime, from Latin, to elevate, from sublimis Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. to cause to pass directly from the solid to the vapor state and condense back to solid form 2. [French sublimer, from Latin sublimare] a. (1) to elevate or exalt especially in dignity or honor (2) to render finer (as in purity or excellence) b. to convert (something inferior) into something of higher worth intransitive verb to pass directly from the solid to the vapor state • sublimable adjective • sublimer noun II. adjective (sublimer; -est) Etymology: Latin sublimis, literally, high, elevated Date: circa 1567 1. a. lofty, grand, or exalted in thought, expression, or manner b. of outstanding spiritual, intellectual, or moral worth c. tending to inspire awe usually because of elevated quality (as of beauty, nobility, or grandeur) or transcendent excellence 2. a. archaic high in place b. obsolete lofty of mien ; haughty c. capitalized supreme — used in a style of address d. complete, utter <sublime ignorance> Synonyms: see splendid • sublimely adverb • sublimeness noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & v. --adj. (sublimer, sublimest) 1 of the most exalted, grand, or noble kind; awe-inspiring (sublime genius). 2 (of indifference, impudence, etc.) arrogantly unruffled. --v. 1 tr. & intr. Chem. = SUBLIMATE v. 2. 2 tr. purify or elevate by or as if by sublimation; make sublime. 3 intr. become pure by or as if by sublimation. Phrases and idioms: Sublime Porte see PORTE. Derivatives: sublimely adv. sublimity n. Etymology: L sublimis (as SUB-, second element perh. rel. to limen threshold, limus oblique)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sublime Sub*lime", n. That which is sublime; -- with the definite article; as: (a) A grand or lofty style in speaking or writing; a style that expresses lofty conceptions. The sublime rises from the nobleness of thoughts, the magnificence of words, or the harmonious and lively turn of the phrase. --Addison. (b) That which is grand in nature or art, as distinguished from the merely beautiful.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sublime Sub*lime", a. [Compar. Sublimer; superl. Sublimest.] [L. sublimis; sub under + (perhaps) a word akin to limen lintel, sill, thus meaning, up to the lintel: cf. F. sublime. Cf. Eliminate.] 1. Lifted up; high in place; exalted aloft; uplifted; lofty. Sublime on these a tower of steel is reared. --Dryden. 2. Distinguished by lofty or noble traits; eminent; -- said of persons. ``The sublime Julian leader.'' --De Quincey. 3. Awakening or expressing the emotion of awe, adoration, veneration, heroic resolve, etc.; dignified; grand; solemn; stately; -- said of an impressive object in nature, of an action, of a discourse, of a work of art, of a spectacle, etc.; as, sublime scenery; a sublime deed. Easy in words thy style, in sense sublime. --Prior. Know how sublime a thing it is To suffer and be strong. --Longfellow. 4. Elevated by joy; elate. [Poetic] Their hearts were jocund and sublime, Drunk with idolatry, drunk with wine. --Milton. 5. Lofty of mien; haughty; proud. [Poetic] ``Countenance sublime and insolent.'' --Spenser. His fair, large front and eye sublime declared Absolute rule. --Milton. Syn: Exalted; lofty; noble; majestic. See Grand.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sublime Sub*lime", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sublimed; p. pr. & vb. n. Subliming.] [Cf. L. sublimare, F. sublimer to subject to sublimation. See Sublime, a., and cf. Sublimate, v. t.] 1. To raise on high. [Archaic] A soul sublimed by an idea above the region of vanity and conceit. --E. P. Whipple. 2. (Chem.) To subject to the process of sublimation; to heat, volatilize, and condense in crystals or powder; to distill off, and condense in solid form; hence, also, to purify. 3. To exalt; to heighten; to improve; to purify. The sun . . . Which not alone the southern wit sublimes, But ripens spirits in cold, northern climes. --Pope. 4. To dignify; to ennoble. An ordinary gift can not sublime a person to a supernatural employment. --Jer. Taylor.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sublime Sub*lime", v. i. (Chem.) To pass off in vapor, with immediate condensation; specifically, to evaporate or volatilize from the solid state without apparent melting; -- said of those substances, like arsenic, benzoic acid, etc., which do not exhibit a liquid form on heating, except under increased pressure.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. If you describe something as sublime, you mean that it has a wonderful quality that affects you deeply. (LITERARY) Sublime music floats on a scented summer breeze to the spot where you lie. ADJ: usu ADJ n [approval] • You can refer to sublime things as the sublime. She elevated every rare small success to the sublime. N-SING: the N • sublimely ...the most sublimely beautiful of all living things. ADV: usu ADV adj • If you describe something as going from the sublime to the ridiculous, you mean that it involves a change from something very good or serious to something silly or unimportant. At times the show veered from the sublime to the ridiculous. PHRASE: PHR after v 2. You can use sublime to emphasize a quality that someone or something has, usually a quality that is undesirable or negative. (FORMAL or LITERARY) The administration's sublime incompetence is probably temporary... He displayed a sublime indifference to the distinction between right and wrong. ADJ: usu ADJ n [emphasis] • sublimely Mrs Trollope was sublimely uninterested in what she herself wore. ADV: usu ADV adj

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. High, elevated, aloft. 2. Exalted (in excellence or dignity), great, noble, grand, lofty, eminent. 3. Stately, majestic, eminent, grand, solemn, noble, magnificent, glorious. 4. Elate, elevated, raised, exhilarated. II. v. a. 1. Vaporize (as a solid, to be again condensed), sublimate. 2. Refine, exalt, elevate, heighten, improve, purify. 3. Dignify, ennoble, exalt, elevate, greaten.

Moby Thesaurus

Elysian, Olympian, abstract, aerate, aerial, aerify, aggrandize, aggrandized, airy, altitudinous, apotheosized, ascending, aspiring, atomize, august, awe-inspiring, awesome, beaming, beatific, beatified, big, bighearted, blissful, blooming, bolt, bright, brilliant, canonized, carbonate, chivalrous, chlorinate, clarify, clear, colossal, dazzling, decrassify, deified, depurate, devastating, dignified, dignify, distill, distinguish, distinguished, divine, dominating, edulcorate, elevated, elute, eminent, emit, empyreal, empyrean, ennoble, ennobled, enshrined, enthroned, erect, essentialize, ethereal, etherify, etherize, evaporate, exalted, excellent, exhale, extract, famous, filter, filtrate, fluidize, fractionate, fume, fumigate, gasify, generous, give off, glamorous, glorified, glorify, glorious, glowing, godlike, good, gorgeous, grand, grave, great, great of heart, greathearted, handsome, haughty, heavenly, held in awe, heroic, high, high and mighty, high-minded, high-pitched, high-reaching, high-set, high-up, holy, honor, honorable, humbling, hydrogenate, ideal, idealistic, immortal, immortalized, inspiring, killing, knightly, largehearted, lauded, leach, liberal, lifted, lixiviate, lofty, magnanimous, magnificent, magnified, magnify, majestic, mighty, mind-boggling, monumental, mounting, moving, noble, noble-minded, on stilts, openhanded, outtopping, overlooking, overpowering, overtopping, overwhelming, oxygenate, paradisiac, paradisial, paradisian, paradisic, percolate, perfume, princely, prominent, proud, purify, radiant, raised, rampant, raving, ravishing, rectify, reek, refine, renowned, resplendent, sacred, sainted, saintly, sanctified, screen, send out, separate, serious, shining, shrined, sieve, sift, smoke, soaring, solemn, sparkling, spiring, spiritual, spiritualize, splendid, splendiferous, splendorous, splendrous, spray, stately, steam, steep, stilted, strain, stunning, sublimate, superb, supereminent, superlative, supernal, supreme, throned, topless, toplofty, topping, towering, towery, transcendent, transcendental, try, upcast, upflung, uplifted, upraised, uprear, upreared, upright, upthrown, vaporize, volatilize, weighty, winnow