Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Complete and without restriction or qualification: Used to describe something that is total, unlimited, or unconditional.
   • Not limited by law; having total power: Describing a ruler or system of government with unrestricted authority.
   • Perfect, pure, or unmixed: Used to describe something in its most fundamental or unadulterated state.
   • Expressing finality with no implication of possible change: Describing something that is definitive and not subject to alteration.
   • Not capable of being violated or infringed: Describing rights or principles that are inviolable.

2. Noun:

   • A fundamental principle or reality conceived as independent and not relative: Something that exists or is true without depending on anything else and is beyond human control.

Examples of Usage

• Adjective:

  • She demanded absolute silence during the exam.
  • The dictator ruled with absolute power.
  • This is absolute proof of his innocence.
  • You have my absolute support in this matter.
  • The bottle was labeled "absolute alcohol."

• Noun:

  • Philosophers have long debated the nature of the absolute.
  • For him, justice was an absolute, not a relative concept.

Advanced Usage

• "absolute zero": The lowest theoretically possible temperature (0 Kelvin, -273.15°C).
  • Scientists are studying matter near absolute zero.
• "absolute majority": A majority over all rivals combined; more than half.
  • The party won an absolute majority in parliament.
• "absolute pitch": The ability to identify or sing a musical note without a reference tone.
  • The composer was said to have absolute pitch.

Variants and Related Words

• Absolutely (adverb): Completely, totally, or without doubt.
  • I absolutely agree with you.
• Absolutism (noun): A political doctrine or system where unlimited, complete power is held by a central authority.
  • The history class covered the era of absolutism in Europe.
• Absolutist (noun/adjective): (A person) relating to or supporting absolute principles.
  • He was an absolutist in matters of ethics.

Synonyms

• Complete: Having all necessary parts; entire.
• Total: Comprising the whole number or amount.
• Unconditional: Not subject to any conditions.
• Sheer: Nothing other than; unmitigated (e.g., ).
• Utter: Complete; absolute (often used for negative qualities, e.g., ).

Antonyms

• Relative: Considered in relation or in proportion to something else.
• Partial: Existing only in part; incomplete.
• Qualified: Limited or modified in some way.
• Conditional: Subject to one or more conditions or requirements being met.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Absolute power corrupts absolutely: A saying meaning that unlimited power tends to make the person who has it corrupt.
  • The scandal proved that absolute power corrupts absolutely.
• In absolute terms: Considered independently, not in comparison to other things.
  • In absolute terms, the cost is high, but it's worth the investment.

Adjective

1. not capable of being violated or infringed
   • infrangible human rights
2. expressing finality with no implication of possible change
   • an absolute guarantee to respect the nation's authority
3. not limited by law
   • an absolute monarch
4. 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
5. perfect or complete or pure
   • absolute loyalty
   • absolute silence
   • absolute truth
   • absolute alcohol

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