absolute

noun

That which exists (or has a certain property, nature, size, etc) independent of references to other standards or external conditions; that which is universally valid; that which is not relative, conditional, qualified or mitigated.

(geometry) In a plane, the two imaginary circular points at infinity; in space of three dimensions, the imaginary circle at infinity.

(philosophy, usually capitalized, usually preceded by "the") A realm which exists without reference to anything else; that which can be imagined purely by itself; absolute ego.

(philosophy, usually capitalized, usually preceded by "the") The whole of reality; the totality to which everything is reduced; the unity of spirit and nature; God.

(chemistry) A concentrated natural flower oil, used for perfumes; an alcoholic extract of a concrete.

(philosophy) That which is totally unconditioned, unrestricted, pure, perfect, or complete; that which can be thought of without relation to others.

adjective

Free of restrictions, limitations, qualifications or conditions; unconditional.

Unrestricted by laws, a constitution, or parliamentary or judicial or other checks; (legally) unlimited in power, especially if despotic.

Characteristic of an absolutist ruler: domineering, peremptory.

Free from imperfection, perfect, complete; especially, perfectly embodying a quality in its essential characteristics or to its highest degree.

Pure, free from mixture or adulteration; unmixed.

Complete, utter, outright; unmitigated, not qualified or diminished in any way.

(very occasionally postpositive) Positive, certain; unquestionable; not in doubt.

(especially philosophy) Fundamental, ultimate, intrinsic; not relative; independent of references or relations to other things or standards.

(physics) Independent of arbitrary units of measurement, standards, or properties; not comparative or relative.

Having reference to or derived in the simplest manner from the fundamental units of mass, time, and length.

Relating to the absolute temperature scale (based on absolute zero); kelvin.

(grammar) Not immediately dependent on the other parts of the sentence; not in a syntactical relation with other parts of a text, or qualifying the text as a whole rather than any single word in it, like "it being over" in "it being over, she left".

(of a case form) Syntactically connected to the rest of the sentence in an atypical manner, or not relating to or depending on it, like in the nominative absolute or genitive absolute, accusative absolute or ablative absolute.

(of an adjective or possessive pronoun) Lacking a modified substantive, like "hungry" in "feed the hungry".

(of a comparative or superlative) Expressing a relative term without a definite comparison, like "older" in "an older person should be treated with respect".

(of an adjective form) Positive; not graded (not comparative or superlative).

(of a usually transitive verb) Having no direct object, like "kill" in "if looks could kill".

(of Celtic languages) Being or pertaining to an inflected verb that is not preceded by any number of particles or compounded with a preverb.

(mathematics) As measured using an absolute value.

(mathematics) Indicating an expression that is true for all real numbers, or of all values of the variable; unconditional.

(education) Pertaining to a grading system based on the knowledge of the individual and not on the comparative knowledge of the group of students.

(art, music, dance) Independent of (references to) other arts; expressing things (beauty, ideas, etc) only in one art.

(law, postpositive, formal) Indicating that a tenure or estate in land is not conditional or liable to terminate on (strictly) any occurrence or (sometimes contextually) certain kinds of occurrence.

(archaic) Certain; free from doubt or uncertainty (e.g. a person, opinion or prediction).

(obsolete) Absolved; free.

Roots

solvosolu- · Latin · loosen, dissolve

Synonyms for absolute

unmitigatedadj unadulteratedadj downrightadv unconditionaladj utteradj unquestioningadj unquestionableadj ultimateadj unalloyedadj unequivocaladj unconditionedadj totaladj veritableadj pureadj absolutistn sheeradj

Synonyms & related words for absolute

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of absolute — including unmitigated, unadulterated, downright, unconditional, utter, unquestioning. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to absolute

Explore words related to absolute — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include absolutization, verier, absolutize, infrangible, absoluteness, inviolable, tychism, absolutely. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for absolute

Common synonyms for absolute include unmitigated, unadulterated, downright, unconditional, utter, unquestioning, unquestionable, ultimate — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does absolute come from?

The word absolute breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root solu-, from Latin solvo (“loosen, dissolve”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.