free from imperfection; complete; perfect: absolute liberty.
2.
not mixed or adulterated; pure: absolute alcohol.
3.
complete; outright: an absolute lie; an absolute denial.
4.
free from restriction or limitation; not limited in any way: absolute command; absolute freedom.
5.
unrestrained or unlimited by a constitution, counterbalancing group, etc., in the exercise of governmental power, esp. when arbitrary or despotic: an absolute monarch.
6.
viewed independently; not comparative or relative; ultimate; intrinsic: absolute knowledge.
7.
positive; certain: absolute in opinion; absolute evidence.
8.
Grammar.
a.
relatively independent syntactically. The construction It being Sunday in It being Sunday, the family went to church is an absolute construction.
b.
(of a usually transitive verb) used without an object, as the verb give in The charity asked him to give.
c.
(of an adjective) having its noun understood, not expressed, as poor in The poor are always with us.
d.
characterizing the phonological form of a word or phrase occurring by itself, not influenced by surrounding forms, as not in is not (as opposed to isn't), or will in they will (as opposed to they'll). Compare sandhi.
9.
Physics.
a.
independent of arbitrary standards or of particular properties of substances or systems: absolute humidity.
b.
pertaining to a system of units, as the centimeter-gram-second system, based on some primary units, esp. units of length, mass, and time.
c.
pertaining to a measurement based on an absolute zero or unit: absolute temperature.
10.
Education. noting or pertaining to the scale of a grading system based on an individual's performance considered as representing his or her knowledge of a given subject regardless of the performance of others in a group: The math department marks on an absolute scale. Compare curve(def. 10).
11.
Climatology. noting or pertaining to the highest or lowest value of a meteorological quantity recorded during a given, usually long, period of time: absolute maximum temperature.
12.
Mathematics. (of an inequality) indicating that the expression is true for all values of the variable, as x2 + 1 > 0 for all real numbers x; unconditional. Compare conditional(def. 6).
13.
Computers. machine-specific and requiring no translation (opposed to symbolic): absolute coding; absolute address.
–noun
14.
something that is not dependent upon external conditions for existence or for its specific nature, size, etc. (opposed to relative).
15.
the absolute,
a.
something that is free from any restriction or condition.
b.
something that is independent of some or all relations.
c.
something that is perfect or complete.
d.
(in Hegelianism) the world process operating in accordance with the absolute idea.
Origin: 1350–1400; ME < L absolūtus free, unrestricted, unconditioned (ptp. of absolvere to absolve), equiv. to ab-ab-+ solū- loosen + -tus ptp. suffix
Related forms:
ab⋅so⋅lute⋅ness, noun
Synonyms: 2.unadulterated, sheer, unqualified, undiluted, uncontaminated. 4.total, unconditional. Absolute,unqualified,utter all mean unmodified. Absolute implies an unquestionable finality: an absolute coward. Unqualified means without reservations or conditions: an unqualified success. Utter expresses totality or entirety: an utter failure. 5.autocratic, dictatorial, totalitarian. 6.categorical. 7.unequivocal, definite, sure.
Not limited by restrictions or exceptions; unconditional: absolute trust.
Unqualified in extent or degree; total: absolute silence. See Usage Note at infinite.
Of, relating to, or being a word, phrase, or construction that is isolated syntactically from the rest of a sentence, as the referee having finally arrived in The referee having finally arrived, the game began.
Of, relating to, or being a transitive verb when its object is implied but not stated. For example, inspires in We have a teacher who inspires is an absolute verb.
Of, relating to, or being an adjective or pronoun that stands alone when the noun it modifies is being implied but not stated. For example, in Theirs were the best, theirs is an absolute pronoun and best is an absolute adjective.
Relating to measurements or units of measurement derived from fundamental units of length, mass, and time.
Relating to absolute temperature.
Unconstrained by constitutional or other provisions: an absolute ruler.
Not to be doubted or questioned; positive: absolute proof.
Grammar
Of, relating to, or being a word, phrase, or construction that is isolated syntactically from the rest of a sentence, as the referee having finally arrived in The referee having finally arrived, the game began.
Of, relating to, or being a transitive verb when its object is implied but not stated. For example, inspires in We have a teacher who inspires is an absolute verb.
Of, relating to, or being an adjective or pronoun that stands alone when the noun it modifies is being implied but not stated. For example, in Theirs were the best, theirs is an absolute pronoun and best is an absolute adjective.
Relating to measurements or units of measurement derived from fundamental units of length, mass, and time.
Relating to absolute temperature.
Physics
Relating to measurements or units of measurement derived from fundamental units of length, mass, and time.
Relating to absolute temperature.
Law Complete and unconditional; final.
n.
Something that is absolute.
AbsolutePhilosophy
Something regarded as the ultimate basis of all thought and being. Used with the.
Something regarded as independent of and unrelated to anything else.
[Middle English absolut, from Latin absolūtus, unrestricted, past participle of absolvere, to absolve : ab-, away; see ab-1 + solvere, to loosen; see leu- in Indo-European roots.] ab'so·lute'ness n.
Usage Note: An absolute term denotes a property that a thing either can or cannot have. Such terms include absolute itself, chief, complete, perfect, prime, unique, and mathematical terms such as equal and parallel. By strict logic, absolute terms cannot be compared, as by more and most, or used with an intensive modifier, such as very or so. Something either is complete or it isn't—it cannot be more complete than something else. Consequently, sentences such as He wanted to make his record collection more complete, and You can improve the sketch by making the lines more perpendicular, are often criticized as illogical. · Such criticism confuses pure logic or a mathematical ideal with the rough approximations that are frequently needed in ordinary language. Certainly in some contexts we should use words strictly logically; otherwise teaching mathematics would be impossible. But we often think in terms of a scale or continuum rather than in clearly marked either/or categories. Thus, we may think of a statement as either logically true or false, but we also know that there are degrees of truthfulness and falsehood. Similarly, there may be degrees of completeness to a record collection, and some lines may be more perpendicular—that is, they may more nearly approximate mathematical perpendicularity—than other lines. · Accordingly, the objection to modification of an absolute term like parallel by degree seems absurd when it is used metaphorically, as in The difficulties faced by the Republicans are quite parallel to those that confronted the Democrats four years ago. This statement describes the structural correspondence between two distinct situations, and concerns about the possibility of intersection seem remote indeed. In this sense, parallelism is clearly a matter of degree, so one should not hesitate to modify parallel accordingly. See Usage Notes at equal, infinite, unique.
c.1374, from M.Fr. absolut, from L. absolutus, pp. of absolvere "to set free, make separate" (see absolve). Most of the current senses were in L. Sense evolution is from "detached, disengaged," thus "perfect, pure." Meaning "despotic" (1612) is from notion of "absolute in position;" hence absolutism, 1753 in theology, 1830 in politics, first used by Gen. Perronet Thompson. Absolutely as an Amer.Eng. colloquial emphatic is first recorded 1892.
Main Entry: ab·so·lute Function: adjective 1 a: free from qualification, condition, exception, or restriction absolute have these qualifications —Long v. Rockwood, 277 U.S. 142 (1927)> —see also absolute ownership at OWNERSHIP —compare QUALIFIEDbin the civil law of Louisiana: having or allowing no legal effect absolute impediment> 2: final and not liable to modification —sometimes used after the word it modifies absolute> —compare NISI —ab·so·lute·lyadverb
Main Entry: ab·so·lute Pronunciation: "ab-s&-'lüt Function: adjective 1: pure or relatively free from mixture<absolute methanol> 2: relating to, measured on, or being a temperature scale based on absolute zero <absolute temperature>
[ab-suh-loot, ab-suh-loot] 
