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.
perfect or complete or pure; "absolute loyalty"; "absolute silence"; "absolute truth"; "absolute alcohol" [ant: comparative]
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"
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"
noun
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 Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This 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>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This Main Entry: ab·so·lute Function: adjective 1 a: free from qualification, condition, exception, or restriction <rights that even seem absolutehave these qualifications —Long v. Rockwood, 277 U.S. 142 (1927)> —see also absolute ownership at QUALIFIEDbin the civil law of Louisiana: having orallowing no legal effect <an absolute impediment> 2: final and not liable to modification —sometimes used after the word it modifies <divorceabsolute> —compare NISI —ab·so·lute·lyadverb
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. Absolute zero (Physics), the be ginning, or zero point, in the scale of absolute temperature. It is equivalent to -273[deg] centigrade or -459.4[deg] Fahrenheit. Syn: Positive; peremptory; certain; unconditional; unlimited; unrestricted; unqualified; arbitrary; despotic; autocratic.
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