sublime

Origin:
1350–1400; (noun and adj.) < Latin sublīmis high, equivalent to sub- sub- + an element of uncertain origin, variously identified with līmis, līmus oblique or līmen lintel, threshold; (v.) Middle English sublimen < Old French sublimer < Latin sublimāre to raise, derivative of sublimis

Related forms

sub·lime·ly, adverb

sub·lime·ness, noun

sub·lim·er, noun

un·sub·limed, adjective

Can be confused: sublimate, sublime.

Synonyms
1. exalted, noble. 2. magnificent, superb, august, grand, gorgeous, resplendent, imposing, majestic.

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To sublime

Collins

World English Dictionary

sublime (səˈblaɪm)

—*adj*
1.	of high moral, aesthetic, intellectual, or spiritual value; noble; exalted
2.	inspiring deep veneration, awe, or uplifting emotion because of its beauty, nobility, grandeur, or immensity
3.	unparalleled; supreme: a sublime compliment
4.	poetic of proud bearing or aspect
5.	archaic raised up

—n
6.	something that is sublime
7.	the ultimate degree or perfect example: the sublime of folly

—vb
8.	(tr) to make higher or purer
9.	to change or cause to change directly from a solid to a vapour or gas without first melting: to sublime iodine; many mercury salts sublime when heated
10.	to undergo or cause to undergo this process followed by a reverse change directly from a vapour to a solid: to sublime iodine onto glass

[C14: from Latin sublīmis lofty, perhaps from sub- up to + līmen lintel]

sub'limely

—*adv*

sublimity

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

sublime

1586, "expressing lofty ideas in an elevated manner," from M.Fr. sublime, from L. sublimis "uplifted, high, lofty," possibly originally "sloping up to the lintel," from sub "up to" + limen "lintel." The sublime "the sublime part of anything" is from 1679. Sublime Porte, former title of the Ottoman government,

is from Fr. la Sublime Porte, lit. "the high gate," a loan-translation of Arabic Bab 'Ali, title of the Ottoman court at Constantinople (cf. mikado).

Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia

sublime

in literary criticism, grandeur of thought, emotion, and spirit that characterizes great literature. It is the topic of an incomplete treatise, On the Sublime, that was for long attributed to the 3rd-century Greek philosopher Cassius Longinus but now believed to have been written in the 1st century AD by an unknown writer frequently designated Pseudo-Longinus.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences

Great tragedies occur here, but there is also an ongoing theatre of the sublime

and the ridiculous.

The sublime has been encapsulated in a fixed set of words-and that particular

combination is neither negotiable nor mutable.

Two live-performance works scout the frontier between the sublime and the

ridiculous.

They set about their work in a spirit of sublime unconsciousness.

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exalted heat of sublimation lofty magnificent

Matching Quote

"There, burying each gloomy thought, each sad reflection in the hearse of dissipation, [we] lost the remembrance of our woes, our cruel misfortunes, our agonising sorrows—and graciously permitted them to glide along the stream of reviving comfort, blown by the gentle gale of new born hopes till they reposed in the bosom of oblivion—then—no! 'tis impossible! this style is too great, too sublime to be supported with proper dignity—the sublime and beautiful how charmingly blended!"

-Frances Burney