sublime
/səˈblaɪm/ verb, adjective, noun, proper noun
Forms sublimes subliming sublimed sublimest sublimedst sublimeth sublimer
- verb To heat (a substance) in a container so as to convert it into a gas which then condenses in solid form on cooler parts of the container; (generally) to change (a solid substance) into a gas without breaking down or passing through the liquid state by heating it gently.
- verb (archaic) To obtain or purify (a substance) in this manner.
- verb (by extension, figurative) To raise (someone or an intangible thing) to a state of (especially moral or spiritual) excellence; to exalt.
- verb To cause (someone or something) to ascend; to raise (someone or something) to a high position.
- verb To cause (juice or sap) to rise in a plant.
- verb Especially of the sun: to heat (something) and cause vapours, etc., to rise from it.
- verb To purify (someone) from a bad influence or from sin.
- verb To raise (someone) to a high office or status; to dignify, to exalt.
- adjective (chiefly poetic, archaic or obsolete) High, tall, towering; also, positioned in a high place; high-up, lofty.
- adjective Of an aspect of art or nature: causing awe or deep respect due to its beauty or magnificence; awe-inspiring, impressive. “sublime scenery”
- adjective Of flight: ascending, soaring.
- adjective Of an idea or other thing: requiring great intellectual effort to appreciate or understand; very elevated, refined, or subtle.
- adjective Of language, style, or writing: expressing opinions in a grand way.
- adjective Of a person or their actions or qualities: intellectually, morally, or spiritually superior. “a sublime deed”
- adjective Of an office or status: very high; exalted; also, used as an honorific (often capitalized as Sublime) to refer to someone of high office or status, especially the Ottoman sultan; or to things associated with such a person. “the Sublime Porte”
- adjective Of a thing: consummate, perfect; (informal, loosely) excellent, marvellous, wonderful.
- noun Something which is sublime; a sublimity.
- noun In the form the sublime of: the highest degree; the acme, the height.
- noun An aspect of art or nature which causes awe or deep respect due to its beauty or magnificence; hence, the great beauty or magnificence of a place, a thing, etc.
- noun A style of language or writing which expresses opinions in a grand way.
Synonyms
sublimate absolute out-and-out empyreal empyrean reverend exalted elevated grand high-flown high-minded lofty rarefied rarified idealistic noble-minded
Antonyms
Etymology
* From Middle English sublimen, sublime, sublyme (“to exalt, extol, glorify, honour; (alchemy) to refine (a substance) by vaporizing in a closed container; to obtain (a substance) by cooling vapour obtained through sublimation; to extract (a pure substance) from a mixture by sublimation; to sublimate (a substance)”), from Middle French sublimer, Old French sublimer (“to exalt, glorify, honour; to refine (a substance) by vaporizing in a closed container; of a substance: to undergo sublimation”) (modern French sublimer), and from its etymon Latin sublīmāre, the present active infinitive of sublimō (“to elevate, raise; to soar”) (compare Late Latin sublimō (“to elevate, raise; to exalt, glorify, honour; to sublimate, vaporize”)), from sublīmis (“elevated, raised; exalted, uplifted, sublime; elevated in style”) (from sub- (prefix meaning ‘under; up to’) + possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *Heh₃l- (“to bend”) (whence Latin līmen (“threshold”) and līmus (“askew; sideways”))) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs).
* From sublime (adjective).
* Old Occitan sublimar
The adjective is derived from Middle French sublime (“admirable, excellent, perfect; placed in a high position; reaching a great height; of a person: of high office or rank”) (modern French sublime), and from its etymon Latin sublīmis, sublīmus (“elevated, raised; exalted, uplifted, sublime”, adjective): see etymology 1.
The noun is derived from Middle French sublime (“elevated style in writing; quality in art or nature inspiring awe, reverence, etc.”) (modern French sublime), from the adjective: see further above.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Lifted up; high in place; exalted aloft; uplifted; lofty.
- adjective Distinguished by lofty or noble traits; eminent; --said of persons. "The sublime Julian leader." De Quincey.
- noun That which is sublime; --with the definite article; as: (a) A grand or lofty style in speaking or writing; a style that expresses lofty conceptions.
- verb To raise on high. [Archaic]
Etymology [L. sublimis; sub under + (perhaps) a word akin to limen lintel, sill, thus meaning, up to the lintel: cf. F. sublime. Cf. Eliminate.]
Etymology [Cf. L. sublimare, F. sublimer to subject to sublimation. See Sublime, a., and cf. Sublimate, v. t.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “sublime”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details