Absolute

/ˈæb.sə.luːt/ · adjective

Meaning

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

Definitions by Sense

1. Free of restrictions, limitations, qualifications or conditions; unconditional.
2. Free from imperfection, perfect, complete; especially, perfectly embodying a quality in its essential characteristics or to its highest degree.
3. Pure, free from mixture or adulteration; unmixed.
4. Complete, utter, outright; unmitigated, not qualified or diminished in any way.
5. (very occasionally postpositive) Positive, certain; unquestionable; not in doubt.
6. (archaic) Certain; free from doubt or uncertainty (e.g. a person, opinion or prediction).
7. (especially philosophy) Fundamental, ultimate, intrinsic; not relative; independent of references or relations to other things or standards.
8. (physics) Independent of arbitrary units of measurement, standards, or properties; not comparative or relative.

Example Sentences

While Americans enjoy an almost absolute freedom to name their children whatever they please, in Germany the State (as public guardian of the good of the child) restricts parents [...]

absolute purity, absolute liberty

So absolute she seems, / And in herself complete.

Indeed, my lord, it is a most absolute and excellent horse.

absolute alcohol

an absolute denial of all charges

When caught, he told an absolute lie.

You're an absolute genius!

Synonyms for absolute

Antonyms for absolute

Related Words

Word Forms

• more absolute
• absoluter
• most absolute
• absolutest
• abs.
• absolut
• absolutes

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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